Prototype Flat-Plate Building-Block Array Fields: Two-Year Field Evaluation

摘要

An evaluation of two years of operation was conducted on two modular flat-plate array fields at the Photovoltaic Advanced Systems Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories. The evaluation focused on foundations, structures, and the electrical subsystem components. Module characteristics and array performance were also assessed. The two 30-kW/sub p/ array fields were constructed in 1983 using low-cost approaches to minimize the balance-of-system (BOS) costs. The results of the evaluation show little BOS degradation in the structures and foundations. Degradation in the electrical subsystem was minimal and included 0.5% failures in the bypass diodes, as well as some preliminary evidence of bonding deterioration in the module junction box. Delamination of some modules was also observed and resulted in several module failures in one of the arrays, a result outside the objective of the BOS evaluation. The results of the evaluation support the modularized low-cost approach for the design and installation of photovoltaic systems. (ERA citation 11:022310)