Feasibility Studies
SOLKEYS can perform feasibility studies prior to the project development, to analyse the technology choices in PV plants, in particular regarding PV module technology, new configurations and their potential impact on quality and reliability.
Energy yield assessment
Energy yield studies are performed during the design phase of a PV plant to assess its potential with different purposes:
- To compare different configuration scenarios in order to optimize the plant design, or a particular parameter of interest, so that the electricity generated by the plant during its lifetime can be maximized while minimizing costs.
- To gain a deeper understanding of the system performance and all the expected energy losses, and the impact of external factors such as operating temperature, shades, soiling, etc.
- To forecast generation and expected associated revenues during the PV plant operation and assess the financial risk of the required investments. The estimated energy yield of a PV plant needs to be determined with an associated uncertainty interval (P50/P75/P90).
SOLKEYS can perform energy yield assessments of PV systems using several commercial PV modelling software packages.
In addition, specific developments can be implemented for advanced features calculations (based on Python PV-LIB, bifacial_radiance and LU-SIM suite), for example:
- Calculation of bifacial energy gain
- Complex shadow scenarios
- Advanced (cell-level) mismatch calculations
- Agrivoltaics projects
- Evaluation of different tracking algorithms for PV plants on irregular terrains
- Algorithms for optimization of diffuse irradiance capture
Quality assurance
Quality assurance is essential to reduce risks and costs and to ensure the optimal long-term performance of the PV plant. It includes the operational techniques and activities, such as inspection, necessary to give confidence that quality requirements and customer expectations are met.
SOLKEYS provides support in the development of general PV module quality assurance procedures and specific project-dependent plans. These procedures detail the requirements in terms of PV modules specifications, manufacturer testing processes, performance and reliability tests to be done at the different project stages (pre-manufacturing, factory inspection, pre-and post-shipment, intermediate / final acceptance), and they include the definition of the optimal sampling rates, inspection levels and acceptance quality levels (AQLs) according to IEC standards, industry best practices and recommendations.
SOLKEYS can also provide:
- Technical advice on component selection (PV modules and their bill of materials).
- Support during EPC contracts negotiations.
- Assessment on PV module measurement and calibration procedures, and uncertainty determination, including bifacial module measurement in line with IEC TS 60904-1-2.
- Advise on suitability of PV module manufacturers quality plans.
- Advice on specific degradation tests such as LID, PID, LeTID as well as materials tests, including test procedures and analysis of results.
- Serial defects analysis / management, analysis of degradation warranties and potential application of performance liquidated damages.
- Root-cause analysis for failures and anomalies detected in the PV modules.
- Estimation of first year and subsequent year degradation coefficients.
- Suitability of monitoring systems with regard to IEC 61724-1:2021 Photovoltaic system performance – Part 1: Monitoring.
We can assess you in the selection of the best laboratory for performing inspection and testing of PV modules and PV plants at your project site or in a nearby location, to perform visual inspection, peak power measurements, thermal infrared and electroluminescence measurements, among others.
End-of-life
PV modules degrade in time due to a wide variety of degradation mechanisms which are driven by internal and external factors. Degradation takes place normally very slowly, and PV modules can reach useful lifespans of 30 years and even more. Many PV plants are now reaching their end of life, and the amount of PV modules to be dismantled is growing fast.
SOLKEYS can provide technical advice on the health status of PV modules, the tests to be performed for its assessment, and the recommended routes for end-of-life management (reuse or recycling)
