A summary of 6 years performance modeling from 100+ sites worldwide

Since 1998 BP Solar has been involved in long term studies (BP Solar Website) on IV swept, maximum power point tracked or grid connected modules and arrays at more than 100 sites worldwide (predominantly in the USA, Europe, Australia and Asia). Both BP Solar and competitors' products are being tested. Technologies studied include laser grooved buried contact "LGBC" (Saturn); screen printed mono and multicrystalline silicon; HIT; single, double and triple junction amorphous Si and CdTe. Different types of monitoring sites include independent test houses, third-party collaborations, BP Solar factories, downloads from the Internet and petrol station roofs. This paper describes the main findings from these tests.