Performance assessment of different solar photovoltaic technologies under similar outdoor conditions

• Performance of three PV technologies is studied under Indian climatic conditions.
• The measured and predicted performance of each technology are also compared
• HIT and a-Si modules are found to perform better than p-Si under similar outdoor conditions.
• HIT modules are found to produce 4–12% more energy than p-Si modules.
• HIT modules are found to perform consistently better than p-Si throughout the year.

The site-specific evaluation of a solar photovoltaic technology helps in identifying its suitability for that location. The objective of the present study is to assess the suitability of different PV technologies under Indian climatic conditions. The performance assessment of photovoltaic technology arrays consisting of polycrystalline silicon, hetero-junction with intrinsic thin layer silicon and amorphous single junction silicon is carried out at a test facility at Solar Energy Centre, in India. The energy yield and performance ratio of each technology, are evaluated. The performance of each technology is also predicted using PV system simulation software and compared with the measured performance. A correction to the module efficiency, results in reducing the absolute percentage error between measured and predicted annual energy yield and performance ratio values to 4.89%, 4.94%, 1.16% and 4.34%, 4.93%, 1.88% for p-Si, HIT and a-Si arrays respectively. The performance comparison shows that HIT and a-Si arrays have performed better than p-Si array at this location. The energy yield of a-Si modules is found to be 14% more in summer months and 6% less in winter months in comparison to p-Si modules. The HIT modules are found to produce 4–12% more energy consistently than p-Si modules.