www.photon.info The Solar Power Magazine International 9-2017 Making differences in quality visible PHOTON International puts solar modules through their paces More energy! The chemical industry demands much more speed in the expansion of renewables World Solar Challenge 42 teams will be competing in the unofficial world championship of solar cars PERC modules How to test solar modules with PERC cells for degradation Efficiency records New records for III-V silicon solar cells demonstrate the potential of this technology
SOLAR AGM Trojan Battery s new line of Solar AGM deep-cycle batteries delivers extraordinary total energy over the life of the battery. These maintenance-free batteries can be counted on day in and day out as a highly reliable power source for a wide range of off-grid, grid-tied and unstable grid applications. MAINTENANCE-FREE trojanbattery.com/gosolaragm 800-423-6569 +1-562-236-3000
A rapid test for module quality editorial PHOTON, in cooperation with the PI Photovoltaik- Institut Berlin, has developed a test for solar modules which allows the quality of a module to be assessed within a comparatively short period of time, and at manageable costs.»manageable costs«means around 6,000 per module type, and»short period of time«means just over one month. This means that every manufacturer will be able to afford the test, and especially smaller companies. It is also affordable for project planners, larger installation companies and operators of solar parks who wish to obtain assurances when it comes to new types of modules or new manufacturers in particular. And the budget available to the PHOTON editorial team allows it to have tests conducted on what are, from a journalistic point of view, particularly interesting modules without commissioning an external company. The short test duration of what is generally four to six weeks also makes it possible to issue a warning about poor quality modules without delay, or to draw attention to particularly interesting offers. The most important aspect, however, is the informative value of the test. To guarantee this, we singled out specific testing processes from the test procedures defined in existing standards such as those issued by IEC and UL, and which are used to find the established potential weaknesses exhibited by solar modules, and when these test methods didn t quite seem adequate to us developed procedures of our own. This produced a series of 13 test steps for which three or, when testing modules made with PERC cells, four test specimens are required. Each of these test steps is suitable for revealing specific weaknesses. A module that passes all the tests is unlikely to cause any problems in operation, and will provide high yields for many decades to come without any significant decrease in output. Of course, the validity of any information in relation to service life which is obtained within a period of one month is limited. This is the reason that there is another test available, which is based on the fast testing process, exclusively designed to allow an assessment of the service life to be obtained that is, in fact, of value. The PHOTON module test has two special characteristics that distinguish it from the existing tests and certifications already available on the market: all test results will be published, regardless of whether a module performs well or poorly. Just like all product tests that PHOTON has performed to date, the results will be presented to the manufacturer. If there are any doubts about the accuracy of the measurements, then they will be discussed until a conclusion is reached, and the measurements will be repeated should this be necessary. Once we are confident that all the test results are correct, then they will be published. All measurements will be conducted at the PI Berlin laboratory, which is accredited as compliant with IEC 17025. The second characteristic is the practical nature of the tests. Research into photovoltaics is making rapid progress, and the results of research studies are constantly being adopted in production. For example, a growing number of module manufacturers are now utilizing cells with a passivated rear side, the so-called PERC cells. However, new technologies also often entail new problems. A new type of decrease in output that affects PERC cells, for example, has been observed, and this is not covered by conventional tests. Anyone purchasing PERC modules that have passed the module test in accordance with IEC 61215 therefore has no guarantee that these high-performance modules won t, at some point, become underachievers. Add to this the fact that there is barely a module on the market by now that doesn t satisfy the minimum requirements specified in the IEC standard the corresponding certification is therefore of no help (anymore) when deciding on which product to purchase. Nor will the PHOTON test simply distinguish between a straightforward»passed«or»failed«, with the results instead being expressed as grades which provide an indication of whether a surcharge for a specific type of module is acceptable, or whether a discount should be demanded instead. The output from»very good«modules should not decrease to any noticeable extent over the full module service life, because the mechanisms causing loss have with the exception of PERC degradation been researched thoroughly, and how to avoid output losses is now common knowledge. Manufacturers just tend to find it more arduous and more expensive to produce a module providing a stable output. The PHOTON test should therefore also give these manufacturers the opportunity to established higher prices for products that are better. This is because what ultimately matters is the cost for each and every kilowatt hour generated. The test results will, as usual, be published in the magazine. If you have any suggestions about which modules to test or you wish to make a comment about the test procedure, then please write an email to philippe.welter@ photon.info. The first results are likely to appear in our January edition. Publisher and founder of PHOTON Philippe Welter September 2017 3
30 Udo Geisler / PHOTON Pictures 50 Sonnenwagen Aachen The chemical industry is driven in its aim to become climate-neutral. Colleagues join forces: the two teams from Hochschule Bochum and Sonnenwagen Aachen e.v. at a meeting at the Aldenhoven Testing Center at RWTH Aachen University markets worldwide 8 Worldwide solar policy, regulatory and market news africa & middle east 10 Solar policy, regulatory and market news across Africa & Middle East asia pacific 14 Solar policy, regulatory and market news across Asia-Pacific region business 750-kW-systems 38 Constructing ground-mounted systems up to 750 kw is now only possible to a very limited degree in Germany solarworld 40 Solarworld founder Frank Asbeck will acquire the production facilities in Germany together with business partners from Qatar while Hillsboro is still for sale americas 22 Solar policy, regulatory and market news across the Americas 24 SEPA column: Distributed, Renewable and Uncertain: Grid Planning in the 21 st Century chemical industry low-carbon energy 30 The chemical industry in Europe is demanding significantly higher speed in the expansion of renewable energies europe 34 Solar policy, regulatory and market news in Europe 36 SPE column: (Solar) Power to the People! service 3 editorial 6 in this issue 7 subscriptions 9 back issues 66 conferences & events 76 company directory 78 publishing, advertisers list 79 contacts page 81 10 years ago 82 preview 4 September 2017
Rolf Schulten / PHOTON Pictures 56 64 CSEM Centre Suisse d Électronique et de Microtechnique This is how weaknesses come to light: The nominal power of each candidate for PHOTON s module test is determined at the beginning and after individual partial tests finance & economics inverter price index 42 Inverter prices until Aug. 4, 2017 module price index 44 Module prices until Aug. 4, 2017 photon photovoltaic stock index 48 Top quads 49 Quarterly results Team EPFL/CSEM and NREL: Mechanically stacked tandem solar cell made of silicon and gallium arsenide with an efficiency of 32.8 percent science & technology world solar challenge 50 Two German teams compete for the World Solar Challenge in very different cars module testing 56 PHOTON is establishing a new test procedure that aims to provide far more information on a solar module s quality than standard certificates do module testing PERC cells 61 The PHOTON module test also includes a test specifically for identifying the degradation of PERC solar cells. This is how it functions. efficiency records 64 New records for III-V silicon solar cells demonstrate the potential of this technology Cover 9/2017 Module testing (wet-leakage test) for PHOTON International at PI Photovoltaik Institut Berlin Photo Rolf Schulten / PHOTON Pictures September 2017 5