DNV GL Analysing Energy Yield For Bifacial Modules

• DNV GL of Norway has revealed details of its project on bifacial modules for which it won $200,000 in funding from US DOE in October 2018
• Over the course of a year, it will collect field data at its outdoor solar test facility in Davis, California to conduct comparative energy yield analysis and create energy simulations in PVsyst software
• It plans to use bifacial and monofacial 1500V PV modules from LONGi Solar, Astronergy Solar, Hanwha Q CELLS and Trina Solar, to be tested on single-axis trackers from NEXTracker, and two albedo ground types
• According to Tara Doyle of DNV GL, if proven viable under the test, bifacial PV modules will have the potential to become the preferred technology for ground-mounted PV installations around the world

Norway based quality assurance and risk management firm DNV GL said it is working on a research study that will provide the 'most comprehensive energy yield analysis for bifacial PV modules to date'. It won $200,000 in funding for its project 'Bifacial PV Module Energy Modeling Validation Study' from the US Department of Energy (DoE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) in October 2018 (see $53mn From US DOE To Fund Early Stage Solar Tech).

Taking cue from the limited validation data available for bifacial PV modules, which it says often lacks third-party evaluation, DNV GL will commission a large-scale comparative energy yield analysis and create energy simulations using PVsyst software based on collected field data to validate energy models created for bifacial PV modules.

"The aim of the study is to accelerate commercial deployment of bifacial PV modules at scale," said Tara Doyle, head of business development for DNV GL's PV module testing lab. "If proven viable through extensive performance and reliability testing, bifacial PV modules have the potential to become the preferred technology for ground-mounted PV installations around the world."

For the purpose of this study, DNV GL will collect field data for a year at its outdoor solar test facility in Davis, California, US, using bifacial and monofacial 1500V PV modules from LONGi Solar, Astronergy Solar, Hanwha Q CELLS and Trina Solar, to be tested on single-axis trackers by NEXTracker, and two albedo ground types. It said collected measurements will be used to generate PAN files and subsequent energy simulations in PVsyst.

The June 2018 Bifacial Solar Module Technology report from TaiyangNews discusses the latest bifacial module technology (see Bifacial Solar Technology Report 2018). The report can be downloaded for free here.