Abstract
Energy efficiency and ratio performance are two key parameters for the analysis of the performance of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The present paper focusses on the assessment of the efficiency of four different photovoltaic module technologies based on energy efficiency and ratio performance. These PV modules were installed at the Applied Research Unit in Renewable Energy (URAER) in Algeria and were used to provide experimental data to help local and international economical actors with performance enhancement and optimal choice of different technologies subject to arid outdoor conditions. The modules studied in this paper are: two thin-film modules of copper indium selenide (CIS), hetero-junction with intrinsic thin-layer silicon (HIT) and two crystalline silicon modules (polycrystalline (poly-Si), monocrystalline (mono-Si)). These technologies were initially characterized using a DC regulator based on their measured I-V characteristics under the same outdoor climate conditions as the location where the monitoring of the electrical energy produced from each PV module was carried out. The DC regulator allows for extracting the maximum electrical power. At the same time, the measurements of the solar radiation and temperature were obtained from a pyranometer type Kipp & ZonenTM CMP21 and a Pt-100 temperature sensor (Kipp & Zonen, Delft, Netherlands). These measurements were performed from July 2020 to June 2021. In this work, the monthly average performance parameters such as energy efficiency are given and analyzed. The average efficiency of the modules over 12 months was evaluated at 4.74%, 7.65%, 9.13% and 10.27% for the HIT, CIS, mono-Si and poly-Si modules, respectively. The calculated percentage deviations in the efficiency of the modules were 8.49%, 18.88%, 19.74% and 23.57% for the HIT, CIS, mono-Si and poly-Si modules, respectively. The low variation in the efficiency of the HIT module can be attributed to the better operation of this module under arid outdoor conditions, which makes it a promising module for adaptation to the region concerned.
Highlights
The political, economic and energy situation in Algeria is currently favorable to the integration of renewable energy into the existing national power system
The photovoltaic module technology is useful for the purpose of directly converting solar irradiation into electricity where there are various PV modules of different semiconductor materials which can be used for power electricity generation, such as monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon, gallium arsenide (GaAs), cadmium telluride (CdTe), hetero-junction with intrinsic thin-layer silicon (HIT), triple-junction solar cells composed of indium gallium phosphide (InGaP)—these are among the main materials used for PV modules [2,3]
The study presented in this paper mainly deals with the presentation and analysis of the measured data collected onsite for four different PV technologies during the period of monitoring. These technologies were the thin-film module of copper indium selenide (CIS), the hetero-junction with intrinsic thin-layer silicon (HIT) and the crystalline silicon modules (polycrystalline and monocrystalline)
Summary
The political, economic and energy situation in Algeria is currently favorable to the integration of renewable energy into the existing national power system. Photovoltaic (PV) in particular, is of major interest in boosting the national renewable. Sustainability 2022, 14, 1771 energy and energy efficiency transition program which was launched by the Algerian government in 2011 [1]. The renewable energy program was improved and updated in. 2021, and it aims toward the concretization of the installation of total renewable energy capacity of 16 GW by 2035, based on solar PV, of which a first tranche of 4000 MW is to enter production by 2024. Kumar et al [4]
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