Analysis Of Failure And Degradation Modes Of Small-Scale Photovoltaic Power Plants In Rural Communities Of The Atacama Desert

In this work, a detailed analysis is performed on failure/degradation modes identified in 95 solar photovoltaic modules located in small-scale domestic PV power plants operating in the Atacama Desert, Chile. The data used was collected in a previous work via visual inspection, thermal imaging and electrical characterization of the I-V curve. Additionally, in-field data is complemented with the global trends identified in the sample universe, together with a theoretical analysis about the possible failure/degradation mechanisms involved. As a result, eight different anomalies were identified and described: soiling, hotspots, delamination, front cover glass discoloration, partial shading, cell fracture, faulty soldering and PID. The most common anomalies were soiling and hotspots, being the highest cell temperature around 100 degrees C. With this information, possible failure/degradation mechanisms were inferred, as well as the influence of the local environment on module components, which may be involved in degradation and the occurrence of failures. This work constitutes a first effort to characterize small-scale domestic PV solutions in extreme Chilean desert conditions.