Comparison of Degradation Rates of Individual Modules Held at Maximum Power

In this paper, we present a comparison of maximum power degradation rates of individual modules under outdoor conditions in Golden, Colorado. Test modules include single- and polycrystalline-Si (x-Si, poly-Si), amorphous Si (a-Si, single, dual, and triple junction), CdTe, Cu-In-Ga-Se-S (CIS), and c-Si/a-Si heterostructure, from nine difference manufacturers. From monthly blocks of output power data, ratings were determined using multiple regressions to Performance Test Conditions (PTC). Plotting the power ratings versus time allowed degradation rates to be calculated from linear regressions. We also include a summary of module degradation rates obtained from the open literature over the past five years. Compared with the common rule-of-thumb value of 1% per year, many modules are seen to have significantly smaller degradation rates. A few modules, however, degrade significantly faster

[1]  W. Sweet.  Power and energy , 1996 .

[2]  Ajeet Rohatgi,et al.  Estimation of PV System Reliability Parameters , 2001 .

[3]  A. Reis,et al.  Comparison of PV module performance before and after 11-years of field exposure , 2002, Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2002..

[4]  C. Osterwald,et al.  Degradation analysis of weathered crystalline-silicon PV modules , 2002, Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2002..

[5]  A. S. Bouazzi,et al.  Investigation of the degradation in field-aged photovoltaic modules , 2003, 3rd World Conference onPhotovoltaic Energy Conversion, 2003. Proceedings of.

[6]  S. Castello,et al.  Efficiency degradation of c-silicon photovoltaic modules after 22-year continuous field exposure , 2003, 3rd World Conference onPhotovoltaic Energy Conversion, 2003. Proceedings of.

[7]  A. De Lillo,et al.  Long-term performance of Casaccia plant , 2003, 3rd World Conference onPhotovoltaic Energy Conversion, 2003. Proceedings of.

[8]  D. Chianese,et al.  Power and energy production of PV modules statistical considerations of 10 years activity , 2003, 3rd World Conference onPhotovoltaic Energy Conversion, 2003. Proceedings of.

[9]  B. Marion,et al.  Performance parameters for grid-connected PV systems , 2005, Conference Record of the Thirty-first IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2005..

[10]  Jill Adelstein,et al.  Performance and reliability of a 1-kW amorphous silicon photovoltaic roofing system , 2005, Conference Record of the Thirty-first IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2005..

[11]  J.A. del Cueto.  Closed-form solutions and parameterization of the problem of current-voltage performance of polycrystalline photovoltaic modules deployed at fixed latitude tilt , 2005, Conference Record of the Thirty-first IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2005..

[12]  B. Marion,et al.  Recent Revisions to PVWATTS , 2005 .