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U.S. Department of Energy
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PV System 'Availability' as a Reliability Metric -- Improving Standards, Contract Language and Performance Models

Conference ·

The use of the term 'availability' to describe a photovoltaic (PV) system and power plant has been fraught with confusion for many years. A term that is meant to describe equipment operational status is often omitted, misapplied or inaccurately combined with PV performance metrics due to attempts to measure performance and reliability through the lens of traditional power plant language. This paper discusses three areas where current research in standards, contract language and performance modeling is improving the way availability is used with regards to photovoltaic systems and power plants.

Research Organization:
NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States))
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S), SunShot Initiative
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1343680
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-7A40-67949
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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