Performance of high-efficiency photovoltaic systems in a maritime climate

Today more than 80% of all installed PV power in the UK is generated from grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems [1]. Currently the energy generated is not remunerated preferentially in the UK, but in the future the energy yield of photovoltaics will gain in importance over an ideal-case power rating. The challenge here is to design highly efficient systems in order to arrive at cost-effective PV solutions. Advances in PV have resulted in new high-efficiency modules being introduced into the marketplace, promising superior performance in terms of efficiency (i.e. kWh/m2) as well as specific energy yield (i.e. kWh/kWp). These promises can only be fulfilled if the complete system is able to capitalise on the advances in the module technology, as the BOS components play possibly the most significant role in the energy production in maritime climates. A programme to validate these promises has been started and initial work is reported. The long term aim of this research is to model not only the module performance with regard to irradiation, temperature and spectrum, but also their performance in grid-connected systems. The model will cover the whole system, from single modules, to DC-AC generation and mismatch. A measurement campaign has been designed to allow validation of the model.