36 month performance of 60 kWp photovoltaic system in Mexico city

In the Research Center (CINVESTAV), located north Mexico City was evaluateda 60 kWp photovoltaic (PV) system. The PV system energy performance ratio, so called “quality factor” isreported together with the measured solar irradiation,ambient andPV module temperatures. The performance ratio (PR), defines the overall PV system performance considering operation parameters as the produced energy, the incident solar irradiance and the total effect of system losses. The electric grid-tied PV system consists of 240 PV modules of 250 Wp each, which are connected to 5 inverters to transform three phase AC. We describe the PV system electric performance for 36 consecutive months through diverse weather conditions. The calculated average PR was 86.8% for the 36 months, even though,it had a lower PR of about 84.8 % in the last 12 months due to the PV array string outages and also inverter technical troubles. The average daily energy produced by the PV system in 3 years was 260.45 kWh/day and anaverage accumulated energy of 95,064.25 kWh per year.

Keywords: photovoltaic systems, energy performance, operating temperature, solar irradiance, sustainable development.