Performance assessment of a grid-connected mc-Si PV system made up of silicon material from different manufacturing routes

This abstract summarises the performance of an Elkem Solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed in the Sunbelt Region (between 35˚ North and 35˚ South) in Hyderabad, India, which has been fully operational since August 2012. The PV system consists of 28 multicrystalline silicon PV modules made from the standard Siemens process and from material produced by a metallurgical route — the Elkem Solar Silicon (ESS™) process. A comparative performance study of the ESS™ modules with respect to standard polysilicon has been carried out under the various climatic and solar radiation conditions at the location. The present study suggests that the ESS™ PV modules have a slightly better performance than standard polysilicon modules as a function of solar irradiation, and thereby the total kWh generated has also been higher for the ESS™ modules.