Early and Abrupt Degradation of CIGS Systems Deployed in Diverse Climatic Conditions
Abstract
This work presents a mid-term performance analysis of four CIGS PV systems installed in distinct regions of Peru: the coastal desert of Lima, the tropical rainforest of Chachapoyas, the semi-arid highlands of Tacna, and the extreme high-altitude conditions of Juliaca. Significant PR losses were identified in Lima and Juliaca, with values dropping from about 0.85 to 0.69 and 0.65, respectively, after one year and just four months of operation. In Tacna, the CIGS system declined to 0.77 after 18 months and remained stable, while in Chachapoyas, the PR dropped to 0.68 after 3.5 years but recovered to 0.75 in the fourth year. Upon identifying these deviations from the expected PR, an in-depth characterization was carried out on the Lima system. I-V curves and electroluminescence (EL) were performed, allowing the identification of power loss linked to decreased FF in the STC-translated I-V curves and revealing deactivated regions. To enable quantitative EL, a tool was developed to identify areas actively contributing to power.
Keywords
CIGS degradation, electroluminescence, outdoor PV monitoring, high-altitude PV systems.