TÜV Rheinland Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory (TUV-PTL), PV Evolution Labs, Celestica, and Greentech Media have partnered to conduct the most comprehensive array energy yield comparison for three North American climates. The benchmark study seeks to determine the energy yield of solar PV systems in three climatic conditions: hot-dry (Arizona), cold-dry (Ontario) and moderate (California).
In the Comparative Energy Yield program, a minimum of 10 manufacturers will provide PV modules to be installed in three North American locations: Tempe, Ariz., Toronto, Canada, and Berkeley, Calif. The test sites will have identical set-ups featuring a weather station, inverters, performance sensors, and data acquisition systems to capture the climate-specific energy yield over the course of one year or more. Modules will be sourced through a statistical batch sampling method by the three labs.
"Sellers, buyers and investors alike are looking for a more comprehensive evaluation of PV module performance to be able to rely on the products to do what they claim to do. This is what the study seeks to accomplish," said Bill Shisler, Solar and Fuel Cells Business Field Manager, TUV Rheinland North America.
Qualification, or type-approval, certification, currently mandatory to enter the market, ensures only basic safety and reliability testing but does not provide a real basis for comparison or reveals performance effects of varying climates. Real-world, outdoor monitoring of small PV arrays provided by the Comparative Energy Yield program will offer a compelling way for buyers and sellers to compare actual operational performance of PV modules in multiple environments.
The study will examine array energy yield data from multiple PV arrays of varying technologies. Energy yield performance will be presented via the standard function, kWh/kWp, in real time via the Greentech Media website www.greentechmedia.com for a global audience. The top performers will be publicly shown, while the lower performers may remain "blinded2 at the participant's discretion. Specifically, information gathered from this study will provide:
1. A comparison of PV modules' relative performance against competitors;
2. A performance comparison of different PV module types in varying climates;
3. Actual performance versus various energy prediction models (optional for participants)
At the end of the year, all sites will deliver a report to each participant, providing them with a detailed assessment of individual array performance relative to a blinded set of competitors per test site.
