Amitabh Verma

ABG-Solar Power Business

June 25, 2015

Module related issues in PV Module related issues in PV Module related issues in PV Module related issues in PV

plants in India and plants in India and plants in India and plants in India and

recommended best practicesrecommended best practicesrecommended best practicesrecommended best practices

Outline

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• ABG Solar Portfolio

• Field Failures

• Current Module Selection Process

• Performance Assessment

• Summary

ABG Solar’s Footprint

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• Year of Start: 2011

• Status: Standalone Business under the Umbrella of ABMCPL

•Total Installed Capacity: 80 MW� 7 Projects in 3 states� 27 MWp in Raj.,2 projects � 15 MWp in Guj.,1 project� 38.5 MWp in Telangana, 4 projects

• Future Guidance: 500 MWp in next 3 years

Bhadla, 22 MWp

Vituza, 5 MWp

Charanka,15 MWp

Kalwakurthy,11 MWp

Mustyal, 11 MWp

Peddashankarampet, 11 MWp

Achampet, 5.5 MWp

ABG Solar’s Plant

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VituzaVituzaVituzaVituza, Rajasthan, 5 , Rajasthan, 5 , Rajasthan, 5 , Rajasthan, 5 MWpMWpMWpMWp CharankaCharankaCharankaCharanka, Gujarat, 15 , Gujarat, 15 , Gujarat, 15 , Gujarat, 15 MWpMWpMWpMWp BhadlaBhadlaBhadlaBhadla, Rajasthan 22 , Rajasthan 22 , Rajasthan 22 , Rajasthan 22 MWpMWpMWpMWp

MustyalMustyalMustyalMustyal, , , , TelanganaTelanganaTelanganaTelangana 11 11 11 11 MWpMWpMWpMWp

KalwakurthyKalwakurthyKalwakurthyKalwakurthy, , , , TelanganaTelanganaTelanganaTelangana 11 11 11 11 MWpMWpMWpMWp AchampetAchampetAchampetAchampet, , , , TelanganaTelanganaTelanganaTelangana 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 MWpMWpMWpMWp PeddashankarampetPeddashankarampetPeddashankarampetPeddashankarampet, , , , TelanganaTelanganaTelanganaTelangana 11 11 11 11 MWpMWpMWpMWp

Potential Induced Degradation (PID)

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y = 9610.5x + 13585R² = 0.888

y = 10793x + 3968.3R² = 0.9594

0.00

10000.00

20000.00

30000.00

40000.00

50000.00

60000.00

70000.00

80000.00

90000.00

100000.00

4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8

Apr-12

Sep-12

Peak Radiation Hours

Daily G

enera

tion (

kW

h)

Approx. 3%

lower

generation for

same peak

hours leading

to further

investigation

Negative grounding of inverter restored the output

Performance after Negative

Grounding

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Snail Trail

7No difference in output in array tester. Lab tests underway.

Hot Spots

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Rust Like Appearance on Bus Bar

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Rust on Bus Bar Cont…….

10

Torn

Torn

Rust on Bus Bar Cont…….

11

IR Spectroscopy

Rust on Bus Bar Cont…..

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EDS Analysis of EVA

Basic Question

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• What constitutes a good module?

• How reliable and durable will be a module?

There is no silver bullet as of date

There is no durability test standard designed as yet by IEC

Criteria for Module Selection

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• Cost of ownership

• IEC 61853

• Legacy Data

• Photon test

• Atlas 25+ Test

• Field Test

•IEC 61215 Design Qualification

• Thresher Test

Reliability Durability

CostPerformance

Specification of BoM and Factory Inspection are Essential for Purchase

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Completeness of Specification

• Giving wattage, tolerance, efficiency of the module, warranty/guarantee, and

certification as per some standards is not sufficient for purchase.

• Bill of materials and their suppliers are equally critical.

• Factory inspection by the purchaser or third party is essential.

• Attention shall be paid to packaging, transportation and handling of modules.

• Review the quality process of the factory.

• Testing by a third party lab in case of doubt or conflict.

• Proven materials and suppliers having long presence in the field are safe bet.

Low Radiation and High

Temperature Characteristics

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Supplier A

Low Radiation and High

Temperature Characteristics

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Supplier B

Low Radiation and High

Temperature Characteristics

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Supplier C

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OneOneOneOne----way ANOVA: 250 way ANOVA: 250 way ANOVA: 250 way ANOVA: 250 WpWpWpWp Automatic, 250 Automatic, 250 Automatic, 250 Automatic, 250 WpWpWpWp ManualManualManualManual

Source DF SS MS F P

Factor 1 10.083 10.083 18.22 0.000

Error 18 9.960 0.553

Total 19 20.043

Automatic tabbing and stringing gives narrower Automatic tabbing and stringing gives narrower Automatic tabbing and stringing gives narrower Automatic tabbing and stringing gives narrower

distribution of wattage and curve is skewed distribution of wattage and curve is skewed distribution of wattage and curve is skewed distribution of wattage and curve is skewed

towards higher wattagetowards higher wattagetowards higher wattagetowards higher wattage

Importance of Process

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Summary

• Module selection is critical for developers as well as financial institutions

• As of today there is no silver bullet for module selection

• In the absence of a standard test for life prediction a variety of test methods

are being proposed which go beyond IEC design qualification test

• The current selection practices are quite price centric.

• Given the price pressure because of tariff heading south, performance

and life cycle costs have taken back seat. There is not enough margin left for

extensive testing. In the absence of long term visibility, often time constraints

also override the much needed due diligence.

• There is a need to review the plants which have been built over last 5 years and

bring out a concise report on experience. The responsibility jointly lies with developers

as well as government agencies.

• Test and standardization activity need greater push in light of ambitious targets

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Thanks