TY - GEN
T1 - Comparison of efficiency degradation in polycrystalline-Si and CdTe thin-film PV modules via accelerated lifecycle testing
AU - Lai, T.
AU - Potter, B. G.
AU - Simmons-Potter, K.
N1 - Funding Information:
Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (AzRISE)
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (AzRISE), Renewable Energy Network (UA REN), and by Tucson Electric Power Corporation (TEP).
Publisher Copyright:
© COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Thin-film solar cells normally have the shortest energy payback time due to their simpler mass-production process compared to polycrystalline-Si photovoltaic (PV) modules, despite the fact that crystalline-Si-based technology typically has a longer total lifetime and a higher initial power conversion efficiency. For both types of modules, significant aging occurs during the first two years of usage with slower long-Term aging over the module lifetime. The PV lifetime and the return-on-investment for local PV system installations rely on long-Term device performance. Understanding the efficiency degradation behavior under a given set of environmental conditions is, therefore, a primary goal for experimental research and economic analysis. In the present work, in-situ measurements of key electrical characteristics (J, V, Pmax, etc.) in polycrystalline-Si and CdTe thin-film PV modules have been analyzed. The modules were subjected to identical environmental conditions, representative of southern Arizona, in a full-scale, industrial-standard, environmental degradation chamber, equipped with a single-sun irradiance source, temperature, and humidity controls, and operating an accelerated lifecycle test (ALT) sequence. Initial results highlight differences in module performance with environmental conditions, including temperature de-rating effects, for the two technologies. Notably, the thin-film CdTe PV module was shown to be approximately 15% less sensitive to ambient temperature variation. After exposure to a seven-month equivalent compressed night-day weather cycling regimen the efficiency degradation rates of both PV technology types were obtained and will be discussed.
AB - Thin-film solar cells normally have the shortest energy payback time due to their simpler mass-production process compared to polycrystalline-Si photovoltaic (PV) modules, despite the fact that crystalline-Si-based technology typically has a longer total lifetime and a higher initial power conversion efficiency. For both types of modules, significant aging occurs during the first two years of usage with slower long-Term aging over the module lifetime. The PV lifetime and the return-on-investment for local PV system installations rely on long-Term device performance. Understanding the efficiency degradation behavior under a given set of environmental conditions is, therefore, a primary goal for experimental research and economic analysis. In the present work, in-situ measurements of key electrical characteristics (J, V, Pmax, etc.) in polycrystalline-Si and CdTe thin-film PV modules have been analyzed. The modules were subjected to identical environmental conditions, representative of southern Arizona, in a full-scale, industrial-standard, environmental degradation chamber, equipped with a single-sun irradiance source, temperature, and humidity controls, and operating an accelerated lifecycle test (ALT) sequence. Initial results highlight differences in module performance with environmental conditions, including temperature de-rating effects, for the two technologies. Notably, the thin-film CdTe PV module was shown to be approximately 15% less sensitive to ambient temperature variation. After exposure to a seven-month equivalent compressed night-day weather cycling regimen the efficiency degradation rates of both PV technology types were obtained and will be discussed.
KW - Accelerated lifecycle testing
KW - Degradation
KW - Environmental chamber
KW - Photovoltaic
KW - Polycrystalline
KW - Thin film
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U2 - 10.1117/12.2274294
DO - 10.1117/12.2274294
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85039038000
T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
BT - Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components, and Systems X
A2 - Kempe, Michael D.
A2 - Dhere, Neelkanth G.
A2 - Sakurai, Keiichiro
PB - SPIE
T2 - Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components, and Systems X 2017
Y2 - 6 August 2017 through 7 August 2017
ER -