The aim of this paper is to present an analysis of long term outdoor exposure of two thin film photovoltaic (TFPV) module technologies deployed in semi-arid climate in Saida city located in Algeria. The TFPV modules are: a-Si:H/µc-Si:H (micromorph) and copper indium selenide (CIS). The TFPV modules were characterised by measuring their I-V curves during three years under the same outdoor climate conditions, where the measurement of weather parameters were also performed. The goal of the analysis is to evaluate the degradation rates of the TFPV modules in semi-arid climate. The analysis is based on two techniques, the effective peak power of PV module and power irradiance technique. It was found that TFPV modules CIS and micromorph exhibit a degradation rate of -2.34%/year and -1.73%/year respectively. The calculated degradation rate for CIS technology is higher than those reported in the literature for locations in Europe and lower than those for locations with hot and humid conditions. In the opposite the degradation rate of the micromorph was lower than those given in the literature.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The aim of this paper is to present a one-year performance analysis of four grid-connected PV systems installed at Ghardaia city in Algeria’s Sahara. The PV systems are based on four different PV module technologies which are: monocrystalline silicon (m-Si), multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si),...

The aim of this paper is to present a comparative study of performance evaluation of photovoltaic (PV) modules as part of the Sahara Solar Breeder project (SSB). In the end of 2013, five different PV module technologies which are: m-Si, CIS, HIT, Back Contact and a-Si_μc-Si, and a weather station were installed at the city of Saida located at the gate of the great Algeria's Sahara desert. The objective of the present work is the study of the behavior of solar PV modules in outdoor conditions and to compare their performance parameters in order to find which technologies are suitable for the Saharan climate conditions. The modules were characterised by measuring their I-V curve in outdoor at the location without shadow. Moreover measurements of various parameters such as irradiance, temperature and humidity, using the weather station were performed. Finally performance parameters as performance ratio, energy yield and temperature losses are given and analysed.