PV PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT METHODS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT POLICY INSTRUMENTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

摘要

With the inclusion of photovoltaic products within the scope of the Ecodesign Working Plan 2016-2019, the European Commission launched in 2017 a preparatory study to assess the feasibility of implementing sustainable policy instruments to photovoltaic modules, inverters and systems with the aim of creating a more sustainable European PV market. The considered policy tools include the mandatory Ecodesign and Energy Labelling, and the voluntary Ecolabel and Green Public Procurement. In parallel, a dedicated study to model the performance of the said PV products was launched to support the implementation of the policy instruments. Based on existing standards, a methodology to estimate the lifetime AC energy yield of PV systems has been developed, modelling independently the performance of the various components. The method is a compromise between accuracy and available information, which in some cases limits the model to be implemented. The complete methodology takes into consideration the efficiency of the various components, and aspects like degradation, losses and lifetime, some of which are not covered by available standards. For these cases, transitional methods were proposed and implemented until international or European standards are developed. The present paper describes the methodology developed in the said modelling study and the conclusions reached.