TY - JOUR
T1 - Tuning electricity generation throughout the year with PV module technology
AU - Manganiello, Patrizio
AU - Govaerts, Jonathan
AU - Horvath, Imre T.
AU - Chowdhury, Mohammed Gofran
AU - Yordanov, Georgi H.
AU - Goverde, Hans
AU - Aldalali, Bader
AU - Beausoleil-Morrison, Ian
AU - Valkealahti, Seppo
AU - Lappalainen, Kari
AU - Poortmans, Jef
PY - 2020/11
Y1 - 2020/11
N2 - Currently, photovoltaic (PV) installations target a maximization of annual energy yield. However, as the grid penetration of PV is increasing, PV electricity generation will need to match better with local load profiles. Especially the seasonal variabilities remain challenging. While wind and PV tend to have complementary seasonal variability, wind turbine installation faces limitations especially in densely populated areas. In this paper, we discuss how this challenge may be addressed with climate- and consumption-specific PV module technology. In particular, we demonstrate how the temperature coefficient of a PV system can impact the energy yield throughout the year. In colder climates, higher temperature coefficients allow for a better energy balance, favoring production in colder seasons without a significant reduction of yearly energy yield. Simulations for locations at high latitude, and colder climates, indicate that higher temperature coefficients and improved low-light behavior not only enable a higher energy yield in cold seasons, but also negligible losses in the overall yearly energy yield compared to lower temperature coefficients and slightly better low-light behavior. Simulations show that these results can be obtained using commercial PV modules. More broadly, they indicate how PV module technology may be optimized depending on the location and climate.
AB - Currently, photovoltaic (PV) installations target a maximization of annual energy yield. However, as the grid penetration of PV is increasing, PV electricity generation will need to match better with local load profiles. Especially the seasonal variabilities remain challenging. While wind and PV tend to have complementary seasonal variability, wind turbine installation faces limitations especially in densely populated areas. In this paper, we discuss how this challenge may be addressed with climate- and consumption-specific PV module technology. In particular, we demonstrate how the temperature coefficient of a PV system can impact the energy yield throughout the year. In colder climates, higher temperature coefficients allow for a better energy balance, favoring production in colder seasons without a significant reduction of yearly energy yield. Simulations for locations at high latitude, and colder climates, indicate that higher temperature coefficients and improved low-light behavior not only enable a higher energy yield in cold seasons, but also negligible losses in the overall yearly energy yield compared to lower temperature coefficients and slightly better low-light behavior. Simulations show that these results can be obtained using commercial PV modules. More broadly, they indicate how PV module technology may be optimized depending on the location and climate.
KW - Energy yield simulation
KW - Low-light performance
KW - PV module Technology
KW - Seasonal balancing by tuning PV generation
KW - Temperature coefficient
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85088041728&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.renene.2020.06.106
DO - 10.1016/j.renene.2020.06.106
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85088041728
SN - 0960-1481
VL - 160
SP - 418
EP - 427
JO - Renewable Energy
JF - Renewable Energy
ER -