Study of Degradation of Amorphous PV Module Performance under Different Climatic Conditions

Abstract

Usually, manufacturers provide PV panels, accompanied with data measured under Standard Test Conditions (STC), i.e. determined at AM1.5 with an irradiance of 1000W/m2 and a cell temperature equal to 25 C. In fact, these conditions do not reflect the reality of natural operation of PV panel conditions and these functional data associated with the real panel operating point may vary from one environment to another due to the change in weather conditions. The characterization of different types of PV panels under natural conditions of operation is, therefore, necessary in order to have a global view about the true electrical performance of different technologies at a given site. This work evaluates the influence of climatic conditions on the behavior of QS-60DGF module which has been installed at the Unit of Research in Renewable energy URERMS Adrar in the southern Algeria. The degradation evaluation of QS-60DGF module with different defects was performed, using (I-V/P-V) characteristics under daily weather conditions and the the visual inspection such as glass breakag. This study is to investigate the degradation rates of a-Si PV module after more than one year of outdoor exposure in desert conditions.