This article was originally published in pv magazine – June 2022 edition. Learn more about the pv magazine test here.

CEA’s Senior Director of Technology & Quality, George Touloupas, provides analysis of the April 2022 energy yield results from the outdoor test field in Xi’an, China.

The chart below (Figure 1) shows the Meteo station data (irradiance and ambient temperature) for April 2022. The average bifacial boost is 8.3%. Bifacial boost is defined as the extra energy yield of the bifacial products compared to the average energy yield of all monofacial mono PERC products.

Figure 1: Daily temperature and irradiance data - April 2022

The following chart below (Figure 2) shows the relative yield comparison between different PV module technologies for April 2022. Although the top performer is Longi’s bifacial PERC module, the average yield of the bifacial TOPCon category leads over the average yield of modules in the bifacial PERC category. Our test field only has one sample from Jolywood in the n-TOPCon bifacial category. As TOPCon modules become more prominent, we look forward to installing more samples of this type to achieve a more representative yield comparison. Please note that we currently have only one multi sample installed from Znshine.

Figure 2: Relative yield of different technologies - April 2022

Notes on the energy yield measurements:

The energy yield comparison among various technologies, including bifacial boost, will be analyzed using products installed after the beginning of 2019.
The energy yield is given in Wh/Wp and calculated by dividing the energy produced by the module by the Pmax at STC of the module. This Pmax is the maximum STC power after a process of stabilization.
The results are grouped in categories, per module type.
The bifacial boost depends on many parameters: the bifaciality factor, the installation geometry, the albedo of the ground, and the sun angle and diffuse irradiance. The ground in this case is gray gravel.

Figure 3: Total energy yield - April 2022

Table 1: Bifacial boost - January to April 2022

Table 2: Energy yield ranking - January to April 2022

Test Cooperation

pv magazine test is a cooperative effort involving pv magazine, APsystems, CEA, and Gsolar. All testing procedures are carried out at Gsolar’s test laboratory in Xi’an, China. CEA supervises these tests and designed both the indoor and outdoor testing procedures.

You May Also Be Interested In: