Grid‐connected amorphous silicon photovoltaic array

A roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) array has been installed at Loughborough University in the UK. The array output is connected through a commercial grid-connected inverter to the University supply network. The system was the third grid-connected PV inst allation to be connected and generating in the UK. It is the first and only grid-connected system using amorphous silicon thin-film PV modules in the UK. The system is fully instrumented to support the research and development that CREST is conducting on grid-connected PV systems, including: inverters; thin-film amorphous silicon and the effects of shading on performance. The paper presented here describes the design, installation and commissioning of the system. Data from the first year of operation along with the results of a preliminary performance analysis are presented and discussed.