Innovative Photovoltaics (PV) Bridge Topology Reliability Block Diagram

Increasing cumulative PV installations experienced a significant Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 30% from 2011 to 2021. Projected advancements in key energy policies are expected to have a substantial impact on annual investments in clean energy, specifically in the realm of solar energy, surpassing the USD 2 trillion mark by the year 2030. Various factors, including site selection, PV materials, and the chosen PV connection topology typically influence the aging and degradation patterns exhibited by PV systems. In this paper, an assessment of the reliability of PV-integrated systems focuses on three distinct topologies: string (series), central (parallel), and a novel bridge connection configuration. Reliability Block Diagrams (RBD) are employed as a tool for evaluating and quantifying the system’s reliability. The obtained reliability results using RBD for the string, central, and bridge topologies were 78.8%, 87.5%, and 87.4% respectively. These findings demonstrate that the bridge and central topology exhibits the highest level of reliability when compared to the string configurations. Through this analysis, with an advantages of bridge configuration could helps mitigate the impact of partial shading, it could shed light on the potential advantages and enhanced reliability associated with the implementation of the practical bridge connection topology in a PV-integrated system.