Site 2.5
Site ID
2.5
Health
COD
2018
Nominal Capacity
100 kWp
Average Specific Yield
717 kWh/kWp
Total Estimated Loss
36%
Possible Gain
3% to 12%
CAPEX, OPEX
1.53 ₹/Wp, 0.26 ₹/Wp/a
Expenditure / Energy
15.5 ₹/kWh to 4.0 ₹/kWh
Abstract
The PV plant makes no profit because it is not connected to the electricity meter. Furthermore, the installed system is affected by near shading. Some parts of the site are poorly ventilated. There are no walkways to carry out the O&M tasks. It is recommended to (i) connect the electricity meter, (ii) install an irradiation sensor (iii) continuous cleaning of the modules and the inverter-fan filters, (iv) re-stringing of shaded modules, and (v) trim surrounding trees. The estimated production boost expected by the retrofitting actions lies between 3 and 12%.
Image gallery
Main Findings
Poor Cable Management, which makes O&M activities more difficult.
Cables and MC4 connector are exposed to UV, reducing their lifetime.
No walkways for maintenance: The array installed on the roof has an inclination of 20° and does not have a walkway for cleaning activities or maintenance work.
There is no weather station, and hence no PR monitoring.
Short side clamping of modules is not advisable by the module manufacturers. This could result in damages of the module body during high wind loads.
The installed metering system is not working. Therefore, no benefits from the site can be charged.
Isolated parts were found by Electroluminescence analysis. This could indicate bad handling during installation or Maintenance.
Impact on Performance
Underperformance
Parts of the system are insufficiently ventilated. This leads to an underperformance of the modules. The underperformance of the measured modules is around 27.3%.
Estimated Loss
≈ 27.3%
Near Shading
More than half of PV array is shadowed by trees and buildings creating a pattern that damages the modules performance.
Estimated Loss
≈ 1.63%
Total Estimated Energy Loss
≈ 36%
Proposed Solutions
Cables should have suitable labelling and should be protected from UV.
The metering system must be connected in order to gain any financial benefits from the site.
A weather station, or at least an irradiation sensor on the module plane, shall be installed so that the performance of the system can be properly determined.
The trees surrounding the system shall be trimmed if allowed. Otherwise, a re- stringing of the modules shall be conducted in the following way: modules with similar shading conditions shall be installed in the same string or at least assigned to one MPPT.
The cleaning of the modules and inverter filter should be carried out frequently. Especially the elimination of bird drops could be implemented in the maintenance.
A re-stringing of the modules from the shaded areas shall be conducted in the following way: modules with similar shading conditions shall be installed in the same string or at least assigned to individual MPPTs.
The site should have walkways installed in order to carry out O&M tasks.
Broken modules and cables should be replaced.