Abstract
In the PV Fleet Performance Data Initiative, high-frequency data from commercial and utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems have been collected to examine performance loss rates (PLRs) at a fleet scale. To date, performance data from more than 7.2-gigawatt (GW) capacity, 1700 sites and 19,000 inverters—approximately equivalent to 6% to 7% of the entire US PV market—have been collected. An overall PLR of −0.75%/year was found, which is in line with historical and recent findings. Tracked silicon (Si) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) performed comparably with all fixed-tilt systems. Higher PLRs were found for hotter temperature zones; cooler climates exhibit a median −0.48%/year loss, which increases to −0.88%/year in hotter climates. High-efficiency module technologies showed median PLRs in line with conventional Si technologies but demonstrated markedly different PLR behavior when filtered only for low-light conditions <600 W/m2. Causes for this technology-dependent behavior are under investigation.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1166-1175 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 30 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:Published 2022. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
NREL Publication Number
- NREL/JA-5K00-81314
Keywords
- degradation rates
- durability
- outdoor testing
- performance
- photovoltaic modules
- photovoltaic systems
- reliability