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Case Study

+4% Energy Increase Achieved with MoreSun® on Italian Solar PV Plants

On 6th November at Digital Solar & Storage 2019, SolarPower Europe’s Emerging Markets Task Force and Digitalisation & Solar Task Force launched a joint report, ‘Digitalisation & Solar in Emerging Markets. It focuses on the convergence of digital technology and solar in the context of emerging markets globally.

The report includes Alectris’ case study on Digitalisation & Grid-connected solar in emerging markets (page 28). The study describes how ACTIS – the World’s first Renewable Energy ERP digitalize, operate and manage to expand O&M portfolios in Jordan remotely.

The report covers the importance of digital solar with a special emphasis on new and emerging markets outside of Europe. It proves that digital solar is an essential foundation for the global energy transition in all segments of the economy and society.

The report embraces the presentation of off-gird solar technologies and business models like solar-based microgrids and pay-as-you-go for solar, which play a key role in providing access to energy in regions with unreliable power supply. Also, it includes on-grid technologies and business models, like smart data analytics or digital asset management for utility-scale solar power plants. These are great solution for new and emerging solar markets with stable power grids.

The development of the report was supported by the Alliance of Rural Electrification (ARE), GOGLA and the Energy Web Foundation.

Date:   February 2017

Alectris has conducted long term and sustained testing of the MoreSun® technology since May 2015. MoreSun® by Pellucere Technologies, is the world’s first and only solar coating that can be applied in the field to operational solar panels, increasing efficiency by reducing reflection losses. Our testing has verified up to 4% more power in average to solar PV plant generation.

As of 2017, our team can now verify power increases exceeding our previous results.

Using various solar PV plants in Italy totally 12 MWp we have demonstrated much better than expected energy output increases using the MoreSun® technology.  The plants include an 8 MWp site and 4 MWp clusters, all located in Italy.

These plants were selected using specific testing criteria.  These criteria included:

  1. The absence of anti-reflecting coating on the glass of the solar power modules.
  2. Ground mounted or rooftop fixed installation, with proper mounting structures height.
  3. The plants include a suitable monitoring system. These selected plants are monitored by the Alectris proprietary system ACTIS. The platform includes a module dedicated to the monitoring and reporting of results related to the new technologies implementation.

8 MWp Solar PV Plant Results
This 8 MWp plant, with a large number of independently monitored inverters, represented a significant statistical, data gathering opportunity.

Fig.1 below captures some of the results of the MoreSun® application as shown in the ACTIS portal, that has achieved a +5,42% overperformance over a 4-month observation period.

ACTIS MoreSun performance case study Feb 2017 Alectris

Fig 1: This is a part of the reporting module on ACTIS that allows the customers to evaluate real time results of the application. In this screen shot it is reported the global average increase of production of the coated (with MoreSun®) part of the plant. The single contribution of each inverters is reported. It is also possible to select particular periods to evaluate results.

MoreSun® Application Procedures
A common challenge of these solar sites is an adequate availability of water for module cleaning. An important condition for a correct application of the MoreSun® product is the cleaning of the modules just before the deposition. Our team set up standard procedures for cleaning to guarantee the results. To overcome this challenge we organized a customized logistic to provide the needed water at the right time.

Module cleaning prior to application is just one of a detailed procedures to follow to guarantee the performance and durability of the film applied. In particular there are stringent conditions on the temperatures of the cells (to be monitored every few minutes during the application), for the preparation of the solution (that has to be prepared every day), for the setting  of the parameters of the applicator to guarantee the correct thickness of the film on the glass of the modules, and so on.

Alectris MoreSun® Installation Capabilities
Currently, having an extensive experience in the application of the product on large PV plants, with a single applicator and a team of two technicians, the Alectris team can apply MoreSun® on about 200 modules per day, including the necessary hand washing of modules.

Alectris installs, tests and monitors this product in Italy, Greece, Europe, Japan, India and Jordan.

An additional advantage of MoreSun® is the best form of resistance “treated” to dirt, an upside certainly noteworthy and verified on working plants, but also on in-lab tests, as shown in the following video:

IItalian solar site with MoreSun applied by Alectris

Photo: One of the first large plant coated with MoreSun® by Alectris in the south of Italy.

 

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