This paper presents a PV panel simulation model using the single-diode four-parameter model based on data sheet values. The model was implemented first in MATLAB/Simulink, and the results have been compared with the data sheet values and characteristics of the PV panels in standard test conditions. Moreover to point out the strong dependency on ambient conditions and its influence on array operation and to validate simulation results with measured data a complex model has also been developed. A PV inverter model, using the same equations and parameters as in MATLAB/Simulink has also been developed and implemented in PowerFactory to study load flow, steady-state voltage stability and dynamic behavior of a distributed power system.