Performance of Silicon Heterojunction Cells and Modules in Arctic Applications: Impact of Angle of Incidence, Air Mass, and Spectra on Energy Yield
In Canada, many remote communities rely on diesel power for the majority of their energy needs, which can cause negative ecological and health impacts while limiting economic development. Bifacial photovoltaics present an alternative to diesel power. With high average latitudes, these communities sh...
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ftdatacite:10.20381/ruor-25388 2023-05-15T13:11:43+02:00 Performance of Silicon Heterojunction Cells and Modules in Arctic Applications: Impact of Angle of Incidence, Air Mass, and Spectra on Energy Yield Lewis, Amanda 2020 https://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-25388 http://ruor.uottawa.ca/handle/10393/41164 unknown Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa Photovoltaics Bifacial Silicon Arctic CreativeWork article 2020 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.20381/ruor-25388 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z In Canada, many remote communities rely on diesel power for the majority of their energy needs, which can cause negative ecological and health impacts while limiting economic development. Bifacial photovoltaics present an alternative to diesel power. With high average latitudes, these communities show potential for large bifacial gains due to high albedo caused by snow and a high fraction of diffuse light; however, high-latitude conditions deviate from standard test conditions, with low average temperatures, light incident from many directions, and high average air masses, resulting in increased energy yield prediction uncertainty. This thesis describes the performance of bifacial silicon heterojunction cells and modules under high-latitude operating conditions, including high angles of incidence and high air masses. Optical losses in the cell and module are described, and module characteristics are incorporated in DUET, the SUNLAB's energy yield prediction software, as an incidence angle modifier and air mass modifier. The percentage change in energy yield when considering air mass is shown to increase with increasing latitude: for a single-axis-tracked installation, the annual difference in energy yield is 0.5% in a low-latitude location (33°N), and more than 2.5% in a high-latitude location (69°N). Air mass correction is demonstrated to improve energy yield prediction accuracy compared to the absence of spectral correction. This work improves energy yield prediction accuracy for high-latitude locations, facilitating adoption of solar energy in diesel-dependent remote communities in Canada and abroad. Article in Journal/Newspaper albedo Arctic DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) Arctic Canada |
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op_collection_id |
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Photovoltaics Bifacial Silicon Arctic |
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Photovoltaics Bifacial Silicon Arctic Lewis, Amanda Performance of Silicon Heterojunction Cells and Modules in Arctic Applications: Impact of Angle of Incidence, Air Mass, and Spectra on Energy Yield |
topic_facet |
Photovoltaics Bifacial Silicon Arctic |
description |
In Canada, many remote communities rely on diesel power for the majority of their energy needs, which can cause negative ecological and health impacts while limiting economic development. Bifacial photovoltaics present an alternative to diesel power. With high average latitudes, these communities show potential for large bifacial gains due to high albedo caused by snow and a high fraction of diffuse light; however, high-latitude conditions deviate from standard test conditions, with low average temperatures, light incident from many directions, and high average air masses, resulting in increased energy yield prediction uncertainty. This thesis describes the performance of bifacial silicon heterojunction cells and modules under high-latitude operating conditions, including high angles of incidence and high air masses. Optical losses in the cell and module are described, and module characteristics are incorporated in DUET, the SUNLAB's energy yield prediction software, as an incidence angle modifier and air mass modifier. The percentage change in energy yield when considering air mass is shown to increase with increasing latitude: for a single-axis-tracked installation, the annual difference in energy yield is 0.5% in a low-latitude location (33°N), and more than 2.5% in a high-latitude location (69°N). Air mass correction is demonstrated to improve energy yield prediction accuracy compared to the absence of spectral correction. This work improves energy yield prediction accuracy for high-latitude locations, facilitating adoption of solar energy in diesel-dependent remote communities in Canada and abroad. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lewis, Amanda |
author_facet |
Lewis, Amanda |
author_sort |
Lewis, Amanda |
title |
Performance of Silicon Heterojunction Cells and Modules in Arctic Applications: Impact of Angle of Incidence, Air Mass, and Spectra on Energy Yield |
title_short |
Performance of Silicon Heterojunction Cells and Modules in Arctic Applications: Impact of Angle of Incidence, Air Mass, and Spectra on Energy Yield |
title_full |
Performance of Silicon Heterojunction Cells and Modules in Arctic Applications: Impact of Angle of Incidence, Air Mass, and Spectra on Energy Yield |
title_fullStr |
Performance of Silicon Heterojunction Cells and Modules in Arctic Applications: Impact of Angle of Incidence, Air Mass, and Spectra on Energy Yield |
title_full_unstemmed |
Performance of Silicon Heterojunction Cells and Modules in Arctic Applications: Impact of Angle of Incidence, Air Mass, and Spectra on Energy Yield |
title_sort |
performance of silicon heterojunction cells and modules in arctic applications: impact of angle of incidence, air mass, and spectra on energy yield |
publisher |
Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-25388 http://ruor.uottawa.ca/handle/10393/41164 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada |
genre |
albedo Arctic |
genre_facet |
albedo Arctic |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.20381/ruor-25388 |
_version_ |
1766248668499804160 |