Long-term outdoor performance and degradation evaluation of CIS PV plant under the semi-arid climate of Benguerir Morocco

Abstract

The effectiveness of a solar photovoltaic module relies on location related factors, including latitude, seasonal variations, irradiance levels, clearness index, and similar elements. In compliance with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards, performance and degradation assessment studies for photovoltaic (PV) technologies have been conducted in a variety of geographical areas with diverse climatic conditions in recent years. A comprehensive study of PV systems employing several technologies will provide some operators and stakeholders with statistically significant findings for assessing system performance. As a result, long-term and short-term performance and feasibility sur may provide information about the characterization of next-generation PV panels. The objective of this study is to perform an outdoor performance assessment and analysis of a 10.44 kWp grid-connected photovoltaic PV system comprised of Copper Indium Selenium (CIS) modules. This work will investigate how a CIS PV plant performs and degrades in Morocco’s semi-arid climate. The study is performed in the period between 2018 and 2021. The measured and estimated performance indicators are evaluated with the aim of assessing the technology’s adaptability and degradation; the methodology applied comprises performance evaluations of the PV system in accordance with IEC-61724 standard guidelines. After 6 years of outdoor exposure, the CIS system’s output power declined with a degradation rate of 3.13%/year obtained using linear regression. I–V curve measurements performed in real test conditions (RTC) determined that power output degradation reached −21.6%, which was more observable in short-circuit current and varies between −8.1% and −18.1% for individual modules.