principal solar institute pv module ratings to evaluate lifetime energy production
DESCRIPTION
Are you aware that the energy produced over 25 years by PV modules can differ by as much as 50 percent, even though they have the same power rating? How do you know which module to select for your project? Choosing low-cost modules can give the impression that a PV project is at grid parity, but the ultimate metric for investors and consumers must be the long-term cost of energy production. Even so, developers cannot make the mistake of paying too much for the highest efficiency PV modules. In this webinar we will share our analysis of the PV module characteristics that determine Lifetime Energy Production™ and discuss the how the Principal Solar Institute PV Module Ratings can be used to select optimum solar panels for your project. In addition to direct cost-benefit analyses, the PSI PV Module ratings have been used by renewable energy investors in their utility scale solar due diligence process, and by Solarize Frederick County as a mechanism to document installers’ choice of solar system components. You should join us for a free webinar by Dan Bedell and Matthew Thompson of Principal Solar Institute to learn how the PSI PV Module Rating works and how it may be used in your solar project development.TRANSCRIPT
Principal Solar Institute PV Module Ratings
to Evaluate Lifetime Energy Production
Dan BedellSr. Director, Principal Solar InstituteEVP, Principal Solar Inc. May 8, 2014
Matthew A. Thompson, Ph.D.Executive Director Principal Solar Institute
Principal Solar Institute
Principal Solar Institute PV Module Ratings to Evaluate Lifetime Energy Production
Dan BedellSr. Director, Principal Solar InstituteEVP, Principal Solar, Inc.
Hosted by Rick Borry, Ph.D.CTO, Principal Solar InstituteCTO, Principal Solar, Inc.
Matthew A. Thompson, Ph.D.Executive DirectorPrincipal Solar Institute
Matthew A. Thompson, Ph.D.Executive Director, Principal Solar Institute
Matthew Thompson is a scientist with 23 years experience in semiconductor process development and yield enhancement at Motorola and at Freescale Semiconductor.
At Motorola's Advanced Process Development Laboratory, he developed vertical gate oxidation processes and equipment. In a collaborative research and development project that included Motorola and IBM, he designed Synchrotron x-ray optics for deep submicron lithography, and supported x-ray mask design. The project culminated with a successful fabrication of fully functional memory chips using x-ray lithography. In another industry research project, Matthew worked with Motorola and Lucent Technologies to develop 200 mm mask manufacturing processes for a novel projection electron beam lithography technique. In addition to these advanced lithography research projects, he developed computer algorithms for Complimentary Phase Shift Masks, leading to volume manufacture of products with 50 nm gates using 248 nm imaging tools. At Freescale Semiconductor, he worked to improve profitability and performance by development and deployment of Design for Manufacturability methodology.
Matthew earned a B.S. in Physics at Texas Tech University, and a Ph. D. in Physics at The University of Texas at Austin. He holds seven patents in areas such as electronic design processing, x-ray mirror design, and advanced e-beam lithography, optical photo mask design and microcircuit pre-failure detection.
Speaker Biography
3
Dan BedellSenior Director, Principal Solar InstituteEVP, Strategic and Corporate Development
Following a lifelong interest in renewable energy, Dan Bedell co-founded Capstone Solar, a think tank for solar professionals to exchange ideas on policy and technology and a platform for peer to peer branding, micro-networking and interactive solar webinars.
Dan previously worked on mergers and acquisitions in the global materials industry, integrating newly acquired businesses into a standard corporate footprint at Lehigh Hanson, Inc. Prior to that, Dan was COO and Director of Business Development for a Dallas-area construction company that was an early entrant into the "green" building market and the rooftop solar installation market. In that capacity, he was an advocate and evangelist for distributed solar generation in the state of Texas. He now brings that same passion for the inevitable mainstream adoption of solar power to Principal Solar.
Dan holds his B.B.A. in Economics from the University of North Texas where he graduated cum laude and spent a semester studying international finance in the UK.
Speaker Biography
4
Overview
What is the difference between power and energy metrics, and why does it matter?
How is the Principal Solar Institute (PSI) PV Module Rating based on Lifetime Energy ProductionTM calculated?
How can modules with the same nameplate wattage have PSI Ratings that differ by 60%?
What are the PSI Ratings of the PV market leaders?
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Two different metrics for PV modules are both important:
• Price per watt ($/W) – Construction cost. Financing a solar project.• Price per kilowatt hour ($/kWh) – Revenue. Energy is sold to consumers.
Power and Energy Metrics
Power: The rate at which work can be done. Energy: The work that is done during a period of time.
Power metrics are prevalent in articles and discussions about PV modules.
The PSI PV Module Rating is a module energy metric.
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The Shelby GT500 has an engine power of 410 kW (550 hp) and a tank that holds 408 kWh of energy.
$135/kW $0.29/kWh
The Shelby is a bargain using the $/W metric…
…but the Tesla costs much less to operate in $/kWh.
The Tesla Model S has a motor power of 310 kW (416 hp) and a battery that holds 85 kWh of energy.
$0.12/kWh$300/kW
Driving Home the PointThe power of a car describes how quickly it can do work, the energy of a tank of gas describes how far it can go.
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The $/W metric is not directly affected by module efficiency ...
Land costs increase with area for utility-scale or community solar. Rooftop area constrains energy production for residential solar. Racking and cabling costs increase with area, so module efficiency has a direct impact on Balance of System costs.
... but one module characteristic used in the PSI Rating is “Area Efficiency.”
Even the most efficient PV modules only convert about 20% of sunlight energy...
photo: www.solairedirect.co.za
Efficiency is Important!
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... are used to calculate Lifetime Energy ProductionTM
and the PSI Rating.
Seven Essential Characteristics ...
Actual Tested Maximum Power vs. Advertised
Temperature Coefficient at Maximum Power
Low Light Efficiency
Nominal Operating Cell
Temperature (NOCT)
Total Area Efficiency
Negative Power Tolerance
Annual Power
Reduction
Published Characteristics AffectLifetime Energy Production
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6:007:45
9:3011:15
13:0014:45
16:3018:15
20:000
100200300400500600700800900
Incident Irradiance
MeasuredCalculated
Time of Day
W/m
2
4344 4364 4384 4404 4424 4444 4464 4484 45040.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
Hourly Temperature 1st Week of July
Hour
Am
bien
t Tem
p C
We use cycles of sunlight and temperature to calculate LEPTM based on how each module’s energy production is affected by the seven key characteristics.
The PSI Rating is then obtained by taking the ratio of module-specific LEP to the total available sunlight energy.
PV Performance Model
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4344 4364 4384 4404 4424 4444 4464 4484 45040.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
Hourly Temperature 1st Week of July
Hour
Am
bien
t Tem
p C
We use cycles of sunlight and temperature to calculate LEPTM based on how each module’s energy production is affected by the seven key characteristics.
The PSI Rating is then calculated by taking the ratio of module-specific LEPTM to the total available sunlight energy.
PV Performance Model
6:007:45
9:3011:15
13:0014:45
16:3018:15
20:000
100200300400500600700800900
Incident Irradiance
MeasuredCalculated
Time of Day
W/m
2
11
Ratings Page at Principal Solar Institute
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Each vertical bar in the chart above is the range of PSI Rating for one manufacturer’s products. Ratings of about 13,000 modules from almost 400 manufacturers are listed in the chart above and on our website.
*GreenTech Media: watts shipped.
*GreenTech Media identifies the top five manufacturers ranked by watts shipped in 2013. Not surprisingly, most of them have high PSI PV Module Ratings.
PV Module Rating: Where Are the Leaders?
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Module Comparison
Nameplate Power (W)
280
280
280
280
280
290
Manufacturer / Model No.
Ningbo / UL-280D
Trina Solar / TSM-280PA14
CSG PVTech / CSG280M2-36
Suntech / STP280-24/Vd
CentroSolar / SP7 280SW
Schott Solar / ASE-300-DGF/50-290
PSI Rating
9.85
7.49
7.42
7.41
7.04
6.07
kW-h Factor
162%
123%
122%
122%
116%
100%
kW-h Factor
100%
76%
75%
75%
72%
61%
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Manufacturer / Model NumberNameplate Power (W)
PSI Rating
kW-h Factor
Ningbo / UL-280D 280 9.85 1.62
Trina Solar / TSM-280PA14 280 7.49 1.23
CSG PVTech / CSG280M2-36 280 7.42 1.22
Suntech / STP280-24/Vd 280 7.41 1.22
CentroSolar / SP7 280SW 280 7.04 1.16
Schott Solar / ASE-300-DGF/50-290 290 6.07 1.00
All of these PV modules have about the same Nameplate Power, but a wide range of PSI Rating. The PSI Rating is based on 25 year LEP, and the relative energy production is indicated in the last column. The Schott PV would have to be available at about 60% of the Ningbo price to be more cost-effective. (6.07 / 9.85 = 0.61)
Module Comparison
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Manufacturer / Model Number *Price per WattNingbo / UL-280D $0.65
Trina Solar / TSM-280PA14 $0.71
CSG PVTech / CSG280M2-36 $0.65
Suntech / STP280-24/Vd $0.60
CentroSolar / SP7 280SW $0.65
Schott Solar / ASE-300-DGF/50-290 $0.68
*Pricing data provided by Paula Mints, SPV Market Research
Module Comparison
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The PSI Rating is:– Unbiased and calculated based on published data– Proportional to Lifetime Energy ProductionTM
– Aware of module efficiency– Simple, with tabulated values – Useful for cost-benefit analysis– Ideal for documenting bids, financial discussions– Available free on PSI website
Summary
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Dan BedellSr. Director, Principal Solar InstituteEVP, Principal Solar, [email protected]
Please enter your questions in the chat window
Matthew A. Thompson, Ph.D.Executive DirectorPrincipal Solar [email protected]
Question and Answer…
www.principalsolarinstitute.org