NE-18-1 THIRD PARTY STUDY INTO TYPES OF DEGRADATION ACROSS LEADING MANUFACTURERS Results of an independent third party study into the effects of LID and PID on the performance of solar panels from leading Chinese Tier 1 manufacturers. REC Solar, Product Marketing May 014
Comparative testing of LID and PID In 013, the independent third-party test institutes SERIS (Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore) performed a comparative analysis of the degradation rates of REC and competitive solar panels The panels used for comparison testing were produced in 013 and purchased on the free market to represent current availability All competitor panels are from leading Tier 1 Chinese competitors, though names have been hidden. REC panels were randomly selected from production in order to have the same indiscriminate sampling as the competitor modules All panels are polycrystalline Testing was carried out in December 013 by the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) and took place at their laboratory in Singapore To ensure consistency, all panels were flashed at the laboratory with the same flash tester before and after testing Tolerance of the tester is +/-% and in compliance with ISO/IEC 1705 All panels in the test were originally factory labeled between 45Wp and 65Wp All panels in the tests first underwent the LID test and then the PID test 014 REC All rights reserved. Confidential
Testing process Flash test SERIS LID 40 kwh/m² Flash test post-lid PID No alu, 96h, 85% r.h., 60 C Flash test post-pid 3 014 REC All rights reserved. Confidential
Light Induced Degradation (LID) Test LID is a loss in efficiency over the course of a panel s first exposure to sunlight relative to its nameplate watt class. IEC 6115 preconditioning qualification requires preconditioning of 15 kwh/m² at 1000 W/m² prior to output measurement. SERIS Test Conditions: Time: 1 days Actual radiation: 40 kwh/m² Open circuit modules Flash values before and after testing (Wp) Panel Initial power (W) Power post test (W) Difference (W) REC 1 55.60 51.15-4.45 REC 54.41 49.81-4.60 Comp A Pan 1 5.80 44.03-9.77 Comp A Pan 53.0 4.07-11.13 Comp B Pan 1 51.89 41.56-10.33 Comp B Pan 50.90 38.65-1.5 Comp C Pan 1 37.15 9.56-7.59 Comp C Pan 35.7 6.46-9.6 Comp D Pan 1 45.57 39.6-6.31 Comp D Pan 48.01 4.91-5.10 Comp E Pan 1 44.8 3.75-11.53 Power loss due to LID (% of flashed value) 0% REC REC Comp A Comp A Comp B Comp B Comp C Comp C Comp D Comp D Comp E -1% Conclusion: REC solar panels are less affected by LID compared to other leading Chinese Tier 1 panels. 4 014 REC All rights reserved. Confidential -% -3% -4% -5% -1.74% -1.81% -3.47% -4.10% -4.40% -4.88% -3.0% -3.93% -.57% -.06% -4.7%
Potential Induced Degradation (PID) Potential Induced Degradation (PID) describes a drop in power output caused by the voltage-induced migration of sodium ions from the glass layer of a panel onto the cell surface. SERIS Test Conditions: Temperature: 60 C Humidity: 85% Voltage bias: -1000V Time: 96 hours Other: Glass surface left uncovered Flash values before and after PID Test 1 Panel Initial power (W) Power post test (W) Difference (W) REC 49.81 54.30 0.00 Comp A Comp B Comp C Comp D 4.07 45.11 0.00 38.65 5.50-13.15 6.46 113.6-113.0 4.91 118.41-14.50 Power loss due to PID (% of flashed value) 0% -10% REC Comp A Panel 0.00% 0.00% Comp B Panel -5.51% Comp C Panel Comp D Panel -0% Conclusion: REC solar panels experience little or no degradation due to PID than leading Chinese Tier 1 panels. -30% -40% -50% -60% -49.99% -51.5% 5 014 REC All rights reserved. Confidential
Comparison of test results by manufacturer Comparative results of degradation testing REC Comp A Comp B Comp C Comp D -5% -1.81% 0.00% 0.00% -4.40% -4.88% -3.93% -.06% -5.51% -15% Power loss -5% -35% -45% -55% -49.99% -51.5% Power loss LID Power loss PID 6 014 REC All rights reserved. Confidential
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