Investigation of Bifacial PV modules degradation under desert climatic conditions

Review on the Sources of Power Loss in Monofacial and Bifacial Photovoltaic Technologies

“…Most studies regarding the module degradation due to the exposure to UV light focus on the degradation of the EVA encapsulant [16,57,59,60]. Realini et al [61] performed a study from 1982 to 2003 on a monofacial system installed in Switzerland.…”

“…Although, with EVA encapsulant and outdoor conditions, the front side of the module receives a higher dose of irradiance compared to the rear side. Albadwawi et al [16] found that in extreme desert conditions, the front side discoloration can cause a degradation of 1.3-1.88% per year while for the rear side, this degradation is around 0.39-0.78% per year. Additionally, as BPV modules use common double glass technology, they showed to be more likely to trap acetic acid and gases produced during the degradation of the encapsulant as the glass layer is less breathable than a back sheet [63].…”

“…This degradation can lead to a reduction of the photocurrent generated by the module due to the reduction of the transmissivity of the encapsulant layer. According to Albadwawi et al [16], even under extreme desert condition, the front side of the front side of bifacial module is more prone to discoloration than the rear side due to the exposure to a higher proportion of direct sunlight. Therefore, it is expected that the overall module degradation due to discoloration of the encapsulant is similar for MPV and BPV modules, as both technologies use predominantly EVA as the encapsulant layer.…”

“…Although it is not yet widely explored in the literature, the degradation rate for bifacial PV of the system is normally under 1% per year [15]. However, studies have shown that in extreme conditions, under high temperatures and irradiances in desert conditions, the overall degradation can reach nearly 2% [16].…”