Site 2.10
Site ID
2.10
Health
COD
2018
Nominal Capacity
200 kWp
Average Specific Yield
1444 kWh/kWp
Total Estimated Loss
40.59%
Possible Gain
14% to 15%
CAPEX, OPEX
0.4 ₹/Wp, 1.0 ₹/Wp/a
Expenditure / Energy
5.1 ₹/kWh to 4.7 ₹/kWh
Abstract
The PV plant shows heavy soiling. A considerable number of micro cracks and isolated parts were discovered through the electroluminescence sample. The module cables are extremely damaged, and some burned modules are found on-site. The modules have hand and shoe-prints. It is recommended to (i) Improve O&M activities, especially the cleaning, (ii) change the broken modules, (iii) install an irradiation sensor, and (iv) re-string the shaded modules. The estimated production boost expected by the retrofitting actions lies between 14% and 15%.
Image gallery
Main Findings
Near shading of telecom tower affecting module performance.
Poor Cable Management, cables not tied up among substructure and exposed to UV. This makes Operation and maintenance activities more difficult and reduce the lifetime of solar cables.
Burned modules are life threatening and the system performance is strongly affected.
Broken and poorly fixed module cables are found on-site. This lowers the system performance and is a high risk for human beings.
The lightning arrestor is installed in a not functional way.
No weather station or at least an irradiation sensor is installed.
The module labels are falling of which makes the O&M tasks difficult.
Impact on Performance
Cell Cracks
Isolated parts and micro cracks were found by Electroluminescence analysis
Estimated Loss
≈ 8%
Heavy Soiling
Modules with heavy soiling, due to poor cleaning and maintenance. Hot cells due to shading and soiling is impairing system performance. Soiling losses were determined to be around 17.6% based on the measurements
Estimated Loss
≈ 17.6%
Total Estimated Energy Loss
≈ 40.59%
Proposed Solutions
The modules with major EL failures can be compared with the manufacture catalogue and if applicable they can be replaced.
The cleaning cycles shall be increased based on the results of a soiling study that adjusts the cleaning needs to each season.
Cables should be tied up among the substructure, have a suitable labelling and should be protected from UV.
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.
Burned, broken Modules and Modules with damaged cables should be replaced.
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 lightning arrestor should be installed in an adequate way.