Techno-Economic Analysis and Performance Evaluation of 25 MW Solar PV Power Plant in Actual Environmental Condition in India

This paper presents study, identification and evaluation of causes and impact of various degradation modes and environmental conditions on performance of a utility scale grid connected solar PV plant located in remote location in India. Degradation of solar PV modules results in considerable loss in energy yield of overall estimated plant generation. The research includes degradation analysis of 25 MW Roha Dyechem amorphous Si solar PV plant, Charanka, Patan, Gujarat under varying climatic conditions. Some of the well qualified modules were found to degrade in outdoor exposure for more than 7 years. Glass breakage, hot spots, backsheet puncture, micro-delamination, corrosion of cell edges, snail trails, Digital Process Control Board (DPCB) failure, moisture ingression, soiling losses etc. were among the main faults observed in fielded PV modules. A comparative analysis is presented between the simulated, computed and practically measured and recorded field data for drawing important conclusions.