Performance assessment of different photovoltaic module technologies in floating photovoltaic power plants under waters environment

Abstract

The paper undertakes a novel study that aims to analyze the performance characteristics of ten monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon modules employing different emerging technologies in waters environment. In this work, monitoring data were collected over a duration of one year using a multi-technology empirical platform within a floating photovoltaic power plant. The energy performance of different module technologies was evaluated using multiple performance metrics such as array yield, performance ratio, capacity factor, efficiency and energy density. By considering environmental variables such as irradiance, ambient temperature, and water temperature, the thermal behavior of photovoltaic modules under water surface deployment conditions is revealed. Furthermore, the multiple variable coupling analysis was conducted to determine the correlation between the performance metrics of various technology type modules and meteorological variables in waters environment. The results indicate that the energy performance and reliability of monocrystalline silicon modules using double-glass double-sided P-type PERC technology is superior to other technologies in waters environment, and the performance ratio and capacity factor reach 88.95 % and 15.04 %, respectively. The heterojunction with intrinsic thin-layer (HIT) technology module exhibits better thermal stability and holds an advantage in the deployment of limited water surface areas due to its higher energy density. Moreover, the performance ratio of floating photovoltaic systems shows a weak correlation with irradiance, and is more significantly affected by the negative correlation of ambient temperature than water temperature.