Title :
Effect of meteorological conditions on the performance of crystalline photovoltaic modules
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Virginia Polytech. Inst. & State Univ., Blacksburg, VA, USA
Abstract :
The Virginia Integrated Solar Test Arrays (VISTA) facility near Richmond consists of three crystalline solar photovoltaic arrays. Field A consists of 25 kW (DC) of polycrystalline arrays with two-axis tracking capability. Field B is identical to field A except it has no tracking capability. Field C consists of 25 kW (DC) of single-crystal arrays with no trackers. The comparative analysis performed using the VISTA and Richmond and Dulles airport data provides significant insight into the causes of uneven performances of fields B and C, which have the identical rated capacity. On the basis of the analysis performed so far, it appears that meteorological conditions affect the performance of single-crystal and polycrystalline modules differently. As partly cloudy and hazy days are more prevalent in Virginia, it is observed that the polycrystalline module (field B) has had a better overall energy production record during the year
Keywords :
solar cell arrays; solar cells; 25 kW; Richmond; VISTA; Virginia; Virginia Integrated Solar Test Arrays; cloudy days; crystalline solar cell arrays; energy production; hazy days; meteorological conditions; polycrystalline arrays; single-crystal arrays; two-axis tracking capability; Airports; Crystallization; Data analysis; Laboratories; Meteorology; Performance analysis; Photovoltaic systems; Production; Solar power generation; Testing;
Conference_Titel :
Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, 1989. IECEC-89., Proceedings of the 24th Intersociety
Conference_Location :
Washington, DC
DOI :
10.1109/IECEC.1989.74551
