Reversing LeTID in PV power plants: a feasibility study

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Esther Fokuhl - , Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Author)
  • Paul Gebhardt - , Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Author)
  • Erdmut Schnabel - , Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Author)
  • Alexander Kleinhans - , Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Author)
  • Cornelius Armbruster - , Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Author)
  • Thomas Mikolajick - , Chair of Nanoelectronics (Author)
  • Viktor Wesselak - , Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences (Author)
  • Daniel Philipp - , Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Author)

Abstract

Light and elevated Temperature Induced Degradation (LeTID) is likely causing strong yield losses in a significant number of photovoltaic (PV) power plants which were commissioned in the late 2010s. In this work, a procedure for an in-field recovery using overnight current injection to trigger temporary recovery of LeTID is presented. The general feasibility of such a procedure is first demonstrated by climatic chamber experiments on strongly degraded mc-Si PERC PV modules. Within the screened test conditions, a temporary recovery procedure with high currents and low module temperatures is most promising for an economic application in PV power plants. An outdoor experiment with current injection during nights and MPP tracking during days confirmed the possibility to recover LeTID in PV power plants. By injecting a pulsed current, the heating of the modules caused by the current injection was strongly reduced compared to the heating at constant current injection. Recommendations for the application of a procedure in PV power plants are given based on the required energy expenditure and cost.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number3
Number of pages13
Journal EPJ Photovoltaics : an open access journal in photovoltaics
Volume16
Publication statusPublished - 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0003-3814-0378/work/180371985

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Degradation, LeTID, Monitoring, Outdoor characterization, Power plant, Recovery