pv magazine test: First Results from the New Dammam Test Field
By George Touloupas and Huatian Xu
This article was originally published in pv magazine – September 2025 edition. Learn more about the pv magazine test here.
George Touloupas, Vice President of ESG and New Services at Clean Energy Associates (CEA), and Huatian Xu, the company’s Director of Technology and Quality, analyze the first three months of performance data from the new pv magazine outdoor test installation in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
In May 2025, we started operating the second pv magazine test outdoor test field in partnership with Gulf Renewables Laboratory (GRL) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. This field will operate alongside the existing pv magazine test installation in Yinchuan, China, allowing us to compare performance results from two very different climates.
As a joint venture between UL and GCC Labs, GRL is among the first laboratories in the Middle East to be certified by the International Electrotechnical Commission’s System for Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components (IECEE), for testing PV modules and systems according to various international standards. With its state-of-the-art facility, GRL plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality, durability, and reliability of solar energy systems across the region. To support research and development, GRL has established a three square kilometer outdoor testing field for real-world PV module assessments in the Gulf Cooperation Council region’s harsh climate.
Dammam has a typical desert climate, with mild to warm winters, and temperatures that can drop as low as 8 C during the winter, with extremely hot summers, and temperatures exceeding 45 C for about five months. There is virtually no rainfall throughout the year. Dammam experiences extreme seasonal variations of humidity, which averages 73%, and dust storms are also common during summer.
The GRL test field is engineered to emulate real-world installation conditions through a fixed-tilt, ground-mounted structure. The design ensures consistency and relevance in outdoor data acquisition, with a fixed tilt angle of 26 degrees representing the optimal tilt for the location, and south-oriented modules at 1.5 meters above ground level, mimicking commercial utility- scale deployment conditions.
A combination of microinverters to ensure maximum power point tracking of the modules and high accuracy meters to measure the performance of the modules has been installed, similar to the equipment setup in Yinchuan.
To simulate real desert power station conditions, GRL cleans samples at the Dammam test field monthly, with additional cleanings after sandstorms. These advanced supporting facilities help maintain reliable and efficient operations at the test site in Dammam. GRL has ample space for outdoor testing, so we welcome further participation of PV module manufacturers to the pv magazine test program.
Figure 1: Daily irradiance and temperature data for May, June, and July 2025
This marks our first three months operating the test field in Dammam. Unlike the site in Yinchuan, the Middle Eastern site faces a tropical desert climate with higher temperatures and irradiance, resulting in increased module operating temperatures. Currently, the weather is clear, however, the Dammam site is expected to suffer sandstorms and faster dust accumulation on the modules as time goes by.
Table 1: Specific energy yield ranking of Dammam May to July 2025
Figure 2: Specific energy yield of modules for May, June, and July 2025
The first modules were installed at pv magazine test’s second installation in April 2025.
Modules installed at the site face Dammam’s harsh climate, with summer temperatures above 45 C and frequent sandstorms.
