Typical Daily Profiles, a novel approach for photovoltaics performance assessment: Case study on large-scale systems in Chile

Abstract

A growing photovoltaic industry shows exponential deployment worldwide, and it is expected to largely contribute to the energy transition. Because PV technologies will play a major role in achieving global sustainable development and climate goals, driving more energy-efficient scenarios will require efficient approaches to evaluate systems, especially when dealing with big data of a large region or portfolio. In this work, a novel approach for the PV performance assessment of photovoltaic systems, called “Typical Daily Profiles” (TDP), is presented. This approach is tested on the entire PV fleet operating in Chile from 2014 to 2019. The TDP approach can help to calculate key performance indicators, identify the mounting configuration of PV systems, and to detect major technical issues. A detailed validation carried on the Chilean PV fleet confirms the TDP approach's capabilities to provide accurate PV performance results, neglecting external factors such as failures, grid curtailment, or poor operation activities. Chile was chosen due to the large variety of climate zones in its unique geography, which helps to understand the PV performance under different environmental conditions. Besides, this study reveals the immense potential of PV technologies in Chile compared to mature PV markets worldwide. On an annual basis, their unit capacity factors can reach up to 38%, performance ratios above 90%, and the highest energy yield close to 3350 kWh/kWp. Proving to be an accurate tool, the Typical Daily Profiles approach can be easily applied to other PV portfolios in different regions, and a periodical execution could help to identify and understand long-term performance losses.