In simulation studies of photovoltaic (PV) systems with power electronic converters, the simulation results are affected by the accuracy of the PV model. The maximum power point tracking, transient and dynamic analysis of the PV systems, and operation of microgrids systems are examples of these simulation studies. The mathematical model of the PV module is a nonlinear $I-V$ characteristic that includes several unknown parameters because of the limited information provided by the PV manufacturers. This paper presents a novel approach using the shuffled frog leaping algorithm (SFLA) to determine the unknown parameters of the single diode PV model. The validity of the proposed PV model is verified by the simulation results which are performed under different environmental conditions. The simulation results are compared with the experimental results of different PV modules such as Kyocera KC200GT and Solarex MSX-60. The effectiveness of the proposed PV model is evaluated by comparing the absolute error of the model with respect to the experimental results with that of other PV models. With the application of the SFLA technology, an accurate PV model can be achieved.