Site 2.12
Site ID
2.12
Health
COD
2018
Nominal Capacity
63 kWp
Average Specific Yield
973 kWh/kWp
Total Estimated Loss
36.63%
Possible Gain
20% to 30%
CAPEX, OPEX
1.4 ₹/Wp, 0.22 ₹/Wp/a
Expenditure / Energy
1.5 ₹/kWh to 1 ₹/kWh
Abstract
The PV plant is affected by significant soiling due to pollution, near shadings caused by surroundings, and modules with cracked cells. A sub-array is disconnected, and damaged modules were found. Earthing, cabling, and structure are in poor conditions. It is recommended to: (i) increase the cleaning frequency, (ii) rearrange the strings based on the shading, (iii) re-sort the modules according to level of mechanical damage, (iv) install an irradiation sensor on the tilted plane to compute and check the Performance Ratio, and (v) replace damaged modules. The estimated production boost expected by the retrofitting actions lies between 20% and 30%.
Image gallery
Main Findings
Earthing strips used to connect the system for grounding were disconnected or broken.
A 5 module sub-array was disconnected.
Poor cable management. Some cables are exposed to weather and the cable conduits are degraded and broken.
Hotspots due to heavy soiling were identified through IR imaging, resulting in some burn marks in the back of some modules.
The bolts connecting the base of the structure to the foundation are rusted.
A broken module was identified during the visit.
No weather station was found on site.
Several foreign objects were found on
top of the modules.
The inverter showed an isolation failure.
Impact on Performance
Heavy Soiling
A soiling loss of 19.3% was determined from IV curve measurements of a module before and after cleaning.
Estimated Loss
≈ 19.3%
Near Shading
Shadows of nearby trees and walls of the buildings cast shadows on the system, creating hot cells on the module.
Estimated Loss
≈ 0.8%
Cell Cracks
Footprints over the modules were found, which could have caused the significant number of cracks found during the electroluminescence.
Estimated Loss
≈ 8%
Underperformance
The underperformance of the measured modules is around 7.2%.
Estimated Loss
≈ 7.2%
Total Estimated Energy Loss
≈ 36.63%
Proposed Solutions
The cleaning cycles shall be increased based on the results of the soiling study that adjusts the cleaning needs.
A weather station, or at least an irradiation sensor on the module plane, shall be installed to properly determine the performance of the system.
For shaded modules a re-stringing 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 cables shall be protected from UV radiation by robust pipes or tubes.
Modules with heavy cracks shall be grouped in the same string or at least assigned to one MPPT.
Grounding system and structures shall be installed again.
The broken module and that with hot spot mark shall be substituted.