Performance of Field-Aged PV Modules in India: Results from 2016 All India Survey of PV Module Reliability

Abstract

This paper presents the electrical performance data gathered in the 3 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">r</sup> All India Survey of Photovoltaic Module Reliability conducted in 2016, in which a total of 925 modules were inspected in different climatic zones of India. The average degradation rate of the Group A (‘All’ sites) modules is 1.23%/year and the so-called ‘Good’ sites is 0.63%/year, better than that observed in the 2014 Survey, the reason being partly the inclusion of more large PV power plants, and also discounting of 2% LID in 2016 analysis methodology. The modules in ‘Hot’ climates degrade faster than modules in ‘Non-Hot’ climates, consistent with earlier results. Modules in small systems (capacity <100 kW) degrade at a faster rate than those in large systems (capacity >100 kW). Roof-mounted systems also degrade at a faster rate than ground-mounted systems.