Estimating PV Module Performance over Large Geographical Regions: The Role of Irradiance, Air Temperature, Wind Speed and Solar Spectrum

We present a study of how photovoltaic (PV) module performance varies on continental scale. Mathematical models have been used to take into account shallow-angle reflectivity, spectral sensitivity, dependence of module efficiency on irradiance and module temperature as well as how the module temperature depends on irradiance, ambient temperature and wind speed. Spectrally resolved irradiance data retrieved from satellite images are combined with temperature and wind speed data from global computational weather forecast data to produce maps of PV performance for Eurasia and Africa. Results show that module reflectivity causes a fairly small drop of 2%–4% in PV performance. Spectral effects may modify the performance by up to \(± 6\)%, depending on location and module type. The strongest effect is seen in the dependence on irradiance and module temperature, which may range from \(-\)20% to +5% at different locations.