UPM-PV system quality control facilities

Technological services are mainly devoted to the evaluation of large PV plants performance, as well on establishing quality control systems by:

• the estimation of yearly energy yield, as a function of the site and the characteristics of a PV plant;
• testing of both electrical performance and PID of PV modules and plants; 
• comparison of the estimation and the actual energy production, through a procedure to analyse the performance of the PV plant

 The infrastructures is based on

• Simulation Platform “SISIFO”
1. Quality control of PV modules
2. Outdoor lab
• Indoor lab
• In-field infrastructure for quality control of PV plants
• Battery integration in PV plants Lab
• Photovoltaic pumping Lab

MAIN TECHNICAL FEATURES:

1.- Simulation Platform “SISIFO”

• SISIFO is an online, free-software, simulator of PV systems developed at IES-UPM.

2.- Outdoor lab for quality control of PV modules

• Solar box: for the characterization of the power of PV modules at real Sun and at STC, and also the efficiency variation with the irradiance.
• Triphase PV system: replicating multiMW PV plants. It is used to test the PID propensity.
• LID testing bench: to measure  their Light Induced degradation.
• Capacitive electronic loads: Used to measure the PV module I-V curves.

3.- Indoor lab for quality control of PV

1. Accelerated tests for PID detection.
2. Electroluminiscence: for the detection of micro-cracks or cells damaged by PID.
3. Sun simulator: to characterize  I-V curves

4.- In-field infrastructure for quality control of PV plants

• Outdoor I-V curves with home-made twin apacitive electronic loads.
• PV plant characterization: composed of reference PV modules,  multimeters, wattmeters, termographic camera and multiMW capacitive load.
• Operation monitoring and performance failure detection: The PVET software allows continuous diagnosis of plant operation.

5.- Battery integration in PV plants Lab

• Composed of a 18kW PV generator, inverter, battery charger, 10 kWh Li-ion battery, PXI
• Real Time Labview and programmable loads
• Domotic home allowing actual consumption profiles.

6.- PV pumping Lab

• Composed of a PV generator, bench with different frequency converters, irrigation automatisms, and simulators of loads and triphase electrical network.
  

LIMITATIONS OR CONSTRAINTS :

The access will be allowed with technical and scientific assistance from staff of the Instituto de Energía Solar (UPM)

TYPICAL SERVICES OR RESULTS

• Preparation of Reference PV modules
• PV module electrical performance and PID
• Acceptance Tests of PV plants
• Estimation of PV plant
• PV plant characterization
• PV plant operation evaluation
• Development of energy management strategies
• Battery characterization
• Development of PV pumping control algorithms
• Acceptance Tests of PV irrigation plants
• PV irrigation plant characterization

LIST OF SERVICES AGAINST PAYMENT

 Prices will be provided on specific services under request.

Participation to Research Projects:

• PVCROPS: PhotoVoltaic Cost r€duction, Reliability, Operational performance, Prediction and Simulation
• MASLOWATEN: MArket uptake of an innovative irrigation Solution based on LOW WATer-ENergy consumption.
• Acceptance tests for more than 70 multi-magawatt PV plants in bankability procedures
• PVET tool at qpv.es
  
  

Address

ETSIST Telecomunicación | Campus Sur UPM | Calle Nikola Tesla, s/n,|  28031 | Madrid-Spain

Main contact

Narvarte Luis