PV Module Reliability R&D Project Overview

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2005

OSTI ID:860685

Hulstrom, R L

The DOE Solar Energy Technologies Program includes a sub-key activity entitled ''Photovoltaic Module Reliability R&D''. This activity has been in existence for several years to help ensure that the PV technologies that advance to the commercial module stage have acceptable service lifetimes and annual performance degradation rates. The long-term (2020) goal, as stated in the Solar Program Multi-Year Technical Plan [1], is to assist industry with the development of PV systems that have 30-year service lifetimes and 1% annual performance degradation rates. The corresponding module service lifetimes and annual performance degradation rate would have to be 30 years lifetime and approximately 0.5% (or less, depending on the type of PV system) annual performance degradation. Reaching this goal is critical to achieving the PV technology Levelized Energy Cost Targets, as listed and described in the Solar Program Multi-Year Technical Plan. This paper is an overview of the Module Reliability R&D sub-key activity. More details and the major results and accomplishments are covered in the papers presented in the PV Module Reliability Session of the DOE Solar Energy Technology Review Meeting, October 25-28, 2004, in Denver, Colorado.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO.
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-99GO10337
• OSTI ID: 860685
• Report Number(s): NREL/CP-520-37031
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
42 ENGINEERING
COLORADO
ENERGY ACCOUNTING
INDUSTRY
LIFETIME
MODULE RELIABILITY
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION RATE
PV
RELIABILITY
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
SERVICE LIFETIME
SOLAR ENERGY
SYSTEMS DRIVEN APPROACH
Solar Energy - Photovoltaics
TARGETS