The service life of photovoltaic thin film modules

Are service lifetime and degradation models suitable for PV modules?

The latest scientific work shows that service lifetime and degradation models for PV modules are of specific use if they combine different modelling approaches and include know-how and modelling parameters of the most relevant degradation effects.

What is the lifetime of a PV module?

Therefore, in the manufacturers’ context, the lifetime of a PV module is often defined as the time required for a PV module to lose its initial STC power by 20% (so-called degradation limit) . For outdoor degradation evaluations, statistical methods are commonly used.

What is the life cycle energy requirement of thin-film solar cells?

In comparison, the life cycle energy requirement, EPBT and GWP of commercial thin-film solar cell technologies were in the ranges of 1054–7939 MJ/m 2 (with a median of 1716 MJ/m 2), 2.11–6.35 years (with a median value of 2.36), and 61–437 KgCO 2 eq/m 2 (with a median of 74 KgCO 2 eq/m 2), respectively.

How to predict the service lifetime of PV modules?

To evaluate and predict the service lifetime of PV modules in real-world operating conditions, mathematical approaches are usually utilized , , . Physical and statistical methods have been commonly used and recently machine learning approaches are being applied.

What is the end-of-life of a PV module?

An overview of potential module failures, influencing factors and effects can be found in a previous report of IEA PVPS Task 13 . End-of-life is defined differently for PV modules, depending on the specific context or issue. The end-of-life is typically dependent on the use of the PV module and the specific conditions of the PV power plant.

Does OPV solar cell system perform better than thin-film technology?

Overall, OPV solar cell system performed better than her counterparts emerging thin-film technologies did. For commercial thin-film technologies, GaAs tandem consumed the largest amount of primary energy, and GaAs (single junction) had the longest EPBT, which can be attributed to its extremely high energy demand.