Assessment of thin-film technologies most suited for BIPV applications in Brazil: the PETROBRAS 44 kWp project

This paper describes the so far largest PV installation in Brazil. The system was designed to assess the performance of the three commercially available thin-film PV technologies operating in warm climates. The fully-monitored, grid-connected installation comprises six subsystems using PV modules from four different a-Si (amorphous silicon), one CdTe (cadmium telluride) and one CIGS (copper, indium-gallium, diselenide) thin-film manufacturer. The installation was designed to measure irradiation levels (horizontal and plane-of-array), temperatures (ambient and back-of-the-module) and AC and DC electrical parameters continuously, in order to compare the long-term output performance of these six state-of-the-art module types and two inverter types, looking at annual energy yields and performance ratios. Different inverter/PV array power ratios are also an aspect of investigation, aiming at studying their influence on energy yields in a warm and sunny site.