Performance Results for the Prism Solar Installation at the New Mexico Regional Test Center: Field Data from February 15 - August 15 2016

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1431472· OSTI ID:1431472

Lave, Matthew Samuel ^[1]; Stein, Joshua S. ^[2]; Burnham, Laurie ^[3]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States). Photovoltaic and Distributed Systems Integration
2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Photovoltaics and Distributed Systems Integration
3. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Electric Power Systems Research

A 9.6 kW test array of Prism bifacial modules and reference monofacial modules installed in February 2016 at the New Mexico Regional Test Center has produced six months of performance data. The data reveal that the Prism modules are out-performing the monofacial modules, with bifacial gains in energy over the six-month period ranging from 18% to 136%, depending on the orientation and ground albedo. These measured bifacial gains were found to be in good agreement with modeled bifacial gains using equations previously published by Prism. The most dramatic increase in performance was seen among the vertically tilted, west-facing modules, where the bifacial modules produced more than double the energy of monofacial modules and more energy than monofacial modules at any orientation. Because peak energy generation (mid-morning and mid-afternoon) for these bifacial modules may best match load on the electric grid, the west-facing orientation may be more economically desirable than traditional south-facing module orientations (which peak at solar noon).

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1431472
• Report Number(s): SAND2016--9253; 647522
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY