Solar modules deployed in France in 1992 still provide 75.9% of original output power
Solar modules deployed in France in 1992 still provide 75.9% of original output power
New testing conducted at France's oldest PV system have shown that its solar modules can still provide performance values in line with what the manufacturers promised.
I love seeing stuff like this. Iirc, panels are given a 25 year lifespan. If most panels will last this long and longer, it would only make sense to replace/upgrade when they actually break or there is a significant enough increase in efficiency to make it worth the investment. Not unlike the batteries in evs lasting longer than even the original engineers estimated.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
French association Hespul was created in 1991 to set up the first photovoltaic plant connected to the national network in France.
Following the inauguration of the Phébus 1 power plant on June 14, 1992 in Ain, Hespul decided to expand its activity to promote photovoltaics in France, which at the time was almost non-existent.
The association has now revealed that around 10 m2 of the panels, corresponding to around 1 kW, were dismantled from the system last year and submitted to a series of tests according to the international standards.
The panels were placed in a dark room at a controlled temperature and exposed to a light flash of 1000 W/m2 to measure their maximum instantaneous power.
The tests were enabled via a corporate sponsorship by the France-based certification body Certisolis and French solar specialist Isowatt, which carried out the flashing of the panels and the dismantling/reassembly, respectively .
“These results confirm those of various scientific studies referring to the subject,” continued the association, such as the TISO‐10 (TIcino SOlare) PV system, which was grid-connected in Switzerland in 1982.
The original article contains 430 words, the summary contains 179 words. Saved 58%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!