A GENERAL AND FLEXIBLE CIRCUIT MODEL FOR THIN FILM PV MODULES, SIMULATING THE IMPACT OF THE INTERCONNECTION SCHEME AND LOCAL DEFECTS

摘要

More complex interconnection schemes of TFPV modules can improve the total efficiency of the module. Also the presence of defects in a thin film photovoltaic (TF PV) module influences the module's behavior. A model is presented to calculate the influence of the interconnection scheme and local defects on the module performance. The proposed modeling tool automatically generates the module netlist through a MATLAB algorithm and runs SPICE simulations, which give Ⅰ-Ⅴ and power curves of the module. A methodology is proposed in order to better understand how specific defects of solar cells and how module topologies act on the entire module. Defects are modeled as a variation from the reference solar cells parameters, which typically involves a shunt and/or series resistance variation for cell and/or interconnection structure. The aim of this work is to better understand how to predict and to limit the effects of local defects in a TF PV module.