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37th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 1168-1170, Energy Rating is a technique that enables a more realistic comparison of PV module performance. In this work, we utilize an LED solar simulator to measure two crucial input parameters for Energy Rating: the power matrix and the spectral responsivity of a poly-Si PV module. The power matrix is measured in a higher resolution compared to the minimum requirements given by the Energy Rating standard IEC 61853 and the obtained dataset is used to determine inter- and extrapolation issues that may arise from the low resolution demanded by the standard. It is shown that for the examined poly-Si module the low resolution is sufficient and yield differences of less than 0.15 % occur.

37th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 1787-1790, In response to the marked increase in research activity and publications about Vehicle Integrated PhotoVoltaics (VIPV), this article is an attempt to identify the main constraints relative to the manufacturing of curved PV modules for automotive application and the interests of composite modules in this context. Two processes have been selected as better adapted to the automotive industrialization and in-mold integration of PV cells: Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) and thermocompression. A finite element analysis (FEA) to evaluate the mechanical strength of the resulting module is proposed. The aim of this numerical approach is to optimize the mechanical performance of the structure. First results were validated by a comparison of simulation outputs with 3-point bending test measurements.

FP7-CHEETAH is a combination of a collaborative project (CP) and a coordination and support action (CSA), receiving funding from the European Union under grant agreement No 609788. The project aims at solving specific R&D issues to overcome fragmentation of European PV R&D and to accelerate the industrialization of innovations by intensifying the collaboration between R&D providers and industry. This proceeding reports on the strategy and key tools brought by the CHEETAH project to improve the state of the art in knowledge exchange on PV RTD. Its CHEETAH Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP) features a dynamic database, a powerful build-in search engine, the dedicated e-learning platform for on-line meetings with internal and external stakeholders, webinars, on-line tests and experiments. The portal profits from the best practice in more efficient social and professional networks web portal by representing a significant step forward in knowledge exchange for the European photovoltaics community to support training, share knowledge and research infrastructures and foster collaboration opportunities at EU scale.

33rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 2007-2012, Nominal power measurements of individual PV modules are needed to quantify the critical modules of PV plants offering lower energy production than expected. Today’s state of the art procedure of shipping a small number of modules to a laboratory is time- and cost intensive and it bears the chance of accidental damage. The Portable LED Flasher (PLF) was developed to require no dismounting of the modules. The quality of the PLF was tested on three PV plants in Switzerland. Additionally, ten PV modules of each plant were measured in the certified indoor laboratory of SUPSI, resulting in a maximum deviation of 3% of the STC values. Furthermore, a round robin test on a single crystalline silicon reference module at 25°C was performed at the JRC’s ESTI laboratory, the Swiss Mobile Flasher Bus and SUPSI resulting in a maximum deviation of the mean values below 1% compared to the PLF. A throughput of up to 150 modules or 500 modules respectively per day is expected and the total measurement costs are estimated to be about a tenth of the costs compared to an indoor laboratory. Module temperature measurement is crucial for a low total uncertainty. Thus, methods such as pre-shadowing of the module and approximation of cell temperature are the current focus of further improvement of the PLF measurement method.

31st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 1663-1666, The Solar Energy Industrial Initiative established the objective of integrating PV into the grid to provide up to 12% of the EU electricity demand. The FP7 project PVCROPS has developed solutions to allow the high penetration of PV systems in EU electrical networks and to reduce its Levelized Cost (LCoE) increasing PV system performance. The solutions consist of documents like technical specifications and toolboxes for design, prediction, integration of batteries and automatic detection of performance failures. Six of them are on-line free tools and thirteen are marketable products. These tools allow reducing the LCoE up to 30%, increasing the Performance Ratio up to 9% and PV penetration of 30%. The tools developed by PVCROPS are detailed in www.pvcrops.eu

The dark measurements technique which were developed to analyze the material properties of solar cells in a PV module and performed either at DC or at AC conditions, can give useful information on the quality of the active material. This technique leads to better understanding the PV module degradation processes, occurring during indoor qualification testing or in real operating conditions. To this purpose an indoor testing laboratory has been set up to detect and monitor the PV modules degradation. A simple technique, based on the analysis of the behaviour of PV devices biased by an AC signal on dark conditions, has been developed to easily and quickly evaluate some parameters like the series, the shunt resistances and the capacitance affecting their electrical characteristics. In the present paper the technique basic concepts will be illustrated. Preliminary experimental results, achieved by applying the technique to some kinds of PV modules based on simple and triple junctiona€™s silicon amorphous solar cells, will be presented. © 2015 COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

1st Africa Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition Proceedings, AfricaPVSEC 2014

The economic success in operating photovoltaic systems depends essentially on the possibility of their long-term operation and delivery of the expected energy yield. Twenty to twenty-five years are often presupposed. These are high demands. A precondition is the good quality and long-term stability of the employed products, in particular the PV modules, as well as all other components and materials, and the non-appearance of damages to these items during transport and handling. In addition, the PV systems must be professionally planned, properly implemented and professionally operated with appropriate maintenance measures. Not only the quality of the PV modules is important, but also the quality of planning and installation of the overall system that pose high risks for long-term protection of profitability. The influential factors for the financial risk are not limited to the technical and safety-relevant risks. The risk assessment of photovoltaic projects must include an evaluation of the location regarding on-site risks and evaluation of the logistical risks in connection with the installation of the system., 1st Africa Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition Proceedings, AfricaPVSEC 2014

26th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 1555-1557, The determination of the electrical parameters and in particular the efficiency of solar cells should be done according to STC. However, hardly any solar simulator or flasher features a spectrum perfectly matched to STC’s ASTM G173 (AM 1.5g) spectrum. If the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the calibration cell and the cell to be tested differ, any spectral mismatch of the applied spectrum compared to STC may not only lead to an erroneous measurement of current and cell efficiency but also to de-optimization of cell properties or misinterpretation of experimental results. As an example it is shown that the combination of spectral and EQE mismatch yield a different optimum of the (effective) layer thickness of the anti-reflection coating (ARC) resulting in a de-optimization according to STC. As a second example, the misinterpretation of benefits due to the implementation of selective emitter technology is discussed.

25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition / 5th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 6-10 September 2010, Valencia, Spain; 4232-4235, Commercial large-area solar simulators are principally in the form of Xenon flashers, which intrinsically have a short flash duration time, typically 100 ms at low spectrum quality and 10 ms at high spectrum quality. This implies measurement time constraints not adapted to the characterization of new generations of photovoltaic modules such as high-efficiency crystalline silicon modules, which can exhibit transient effects leading to measurement artifacts [1]. Moreover, thin film technologies require a high spectral match and possibly a variable spectrum of the illumination source for the accurate power-rating of multi-junctions based solar modules. An alternative large-area solar simulator solution is proposed for the power rating and the diagnostic of such generations of solar modules. The developed simulator makes use of a combination of different power LEDs and halogen lamps in a particular matrix configuration, integrated into a 1 m × 1 m table with mirrors. The constructed prototype demonstrates an AAA classification according to the IEC norms [2], allows for long illumination (200 ms to continuous) and permits controlled variation of the spectrum and of the intensity of the illumination.

32nd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 2105-2109, This paper presents results from a high speed photovoltaic sweeper system measuring the IVcharacteristics once per second of a solar panel under test at the ESTER PV test laboratory at the Tor Vergata University in Rome and in Denmark. The high temporal resolution of the scans shows the detailed temperature characteristics of the primary panel parameters compared to the reference irradiation/spectral data obtained via the ESTER instrumentation. An analysis of the irradiance levels shows that the STC and NOCT conditions in real life are extremely rare events. Analysis show that the temperature coefficient is depending on the irradiance level.

Poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) is the major polymer used for photovoltaic (PV) modules encapsulation. Its degree of cross-linking (related to its gel content) is taken as a major quality reference. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) has been proven to be fast and effective but is to determine the gel content, however, destructive for the PV module. With the aim to develop a non-destructive quality assessment tool, a detailed discussion on the DSC thermogram of EVA PV encapsulant is presented here. A possible path towards a fast and non-destructive method for determing EVA gel content is proposed based on the DSC analysis.