Publications

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Snow and ice accumulation on photovoltaic (PV) panels is a recognized-but poorly quantified-contributor to PV performance, not only in geographic areas that see persistent snow in winter but also at lower latitudes, where frozen precipitation and 'snowmageddon' events can wreak havoc with the solar infrastructure. In addition, research on the impact of snow and cold on PV systems has not kept pace with the proliferation of new technologies, the rapid deployment of PV in northern latitudes, and experiences with long-term field performance. This paper describes the value of a dedicated outdoor research facility for longitudinal performance and reliability studies of emerging technologies in cold climates.

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The objective of the Photovoltaic Collaborative to Advance Multi-climate and Performance Research (PVCAMPER) is to: 1) Build and maintain a multi-climate research platform to enable pioneering photovoltaic research; 2) Validate the performance of emerging technologies in specific climates; 3) Help accelerate the world’s transition to a solar-intensive economy. Our focus in achieving those goals is to foster collaborative research and to build an international organization dedicated to improving data quality, minimizing measurement uncertainty and exchanging best practices related to PV performance.

Land-use conflicts created by the growth of solar photovoltaics (PV) can be mitigated by applying the concept of agrivoltaics, that is, the co-development of land for both PV and agricultural purposes, to commercial-scale solar installations. In this study, we present a conceptual design for a novel agrivoltaic system based on pasture-fed rabbit farming and provide the technical, environmental and economic analyses to demonstrate the viability of the concept. Included in our analysis are the economic advantages to the PV operator of grazing rabbits at a density sufficient to control vegetative growth, thus reducing the economic and environmental costs of mowing; the dual-revenue stream from the sale of both rabbits and electricity, contrasted with estimates of the capital-investment costs for rabbits co-located with, and also independent of, PV; and the economic value to the rabbit farmer of higher colony-growth rates (made possible by the shading and predator protection provided by the PV arrays and of reduced fencing costs, which are the largest capital cost, by being able to leverage the PV systems for rabbit fencing. We also provide an environmental analysis that suggests that rabbit-PV farming is a pathway to a measurable reduction in agriculturally-generated greenhouse-gas emissions. Our calculations indicate that the co-location of solar and rabbit farms is a viable form of agrivoltaics, increasing overall site revenue by 2.5%–24.0% above projected electricity revenue depending on location and rental/ownership of rabbits, while providing a high-value agricultural product that, on a per weight basis, has significantly less environmental impact than cattle.

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The objective of the Photovoltaic Collaborative to Advance Multi-climate and Performance Research (PVCAMPER) is to create a multi-climate research platform similar to the US DOE Regional Test Center (RTC) program. Overall, the goal is to foster collaborative research and to build an international organization dedicated to sharing data and exchanging best practices related to PV performance.

This paper presents the methodology and preliminary results from a global study on solar over-irradiance events, which are more frequent than previously believed and can negatively impact utility-scale PV operations. Data from five test sites in Florianópolis and Brotas de Macaúbas in Brazil, Bernburg in Germany, Albuquerque, in the USA and Loughborough, in the United Kingdom are presented and analyzed.

Modeling and predicting snow-related power loss is important to economic calculations, load management and system optimization for all scales of photovoltaic (PV) power plants. This paper describes a new method for measuring snow shedding from fielded modules and also describes the application of this method to a commercial scale PV power plant in Vermont with two subsystems, one with modules in portrait orientation and the other in landscape. The method relies on time-series images taken at 5 minute intervals to capture the dynamics of module-level snow accumulation and shedding. Module-level images extracted from the full-field view are binarized into snow and clear areas, allowing for the quantification of percentage snow coverage, estimation of resulting module power output, and temporal changes in snow coverage. Preliminary data from the Vermont case study suggests that framed modules in portrait orientation outperform their framed counterparts in landscape orientation by as much as 24% energy yield during a single shedding event. While these data reflect a single event, and do not capture snow shedding behavior across diverse temperature and other climatic conditions, the study nonetheless demonstrates that 1) module orientation and position in the array influence shedding patterns; 2) the start of power production and bypass diode activation differ for portrait and landscape module orientations at similar percentages and orientations of snow coverage; and 3) system design is an important factor in snow mitigation and increased system efficiency in snowy climates.

Modeling and predicting snow-related power loss is important to economic calculations, load management and system optimization for all scales of photovoltaic (PV) power plants. This paper describes a new method for measuring snow shedding from fielded modules and also describes the application of this method to a commercial scale PV power plant in Vermont with two subsystems, one with modules in portrait orientation and the other in landscape. The method relies on time-series images taken at 5 minute intervals to capture the dynamics of module-level snow accumulation and shedding. Module-level images extracted from the full-field view are binarized into snow and clear areas, allowing for the quantification of percentage snow coverage, estimation of resulting module power output, and temporal changes in snow coverage. Preliminary data from the Vermont case study suggests that framed modules in portrait orientation outperform their framed counterparts in landscape orientation by as much as 24% energy yield during a single shedding event. While these data reflect a single event, and do not capture snow shedding behavior across diverse temperature and other climatic conditions, the study nonetheless demonstrates that 1) module orientation and position in the array influence shedding patterns; 2) the start of power production and bypass diode activation differ for portrait and landscape module orientations at similar percentages and orientations of snow coverage; and 3) system design is an important factor in snow mitigation and increased system efficiency in snowy climates.

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