The globe's sunniest PV testing field

• French power titan Engie recently commissioned a solar module screening facility in Chile's Atacama Desert, an area which has the globe's highest possible solar radiation. Thore Müller-- head of bifacial PV R&D and solar solutions at Engie Laborelec, spoke with pv magazineabout the benefits of screening panels, inverters and cleansing systems in warm, dry settings.

The Engie Laborelec unit of the French energy titan recently commissioned a PV module screening center and also technology facility in northern Chile's Atacama Desert-- an area with the world's highest solar radiation.

The center is developed to evaluate modern technology, consisting of inverters and cleaning up systems, for large range solar projects. "The test bed is designed for huge range applications as well as will aid enhance layouts based on a systemic method," claimed Thore Müller, head of bifacial PV R&D at Engie Laborelec. "We intend to move the general view away from a straight project advancement [strategy] where elements are reviewed and also picked separately and towards ... making style selections based on their combined impact on the LCOE [levelized cost of power] Then, we intend to check and also establish innovative modern technologies to maximize the return."

Engie Laborelec is examining 6 bifacial panels from 3 makers as well as two trackers, plus string inverters. "But, most notably, we examine mixes of these to see just how they impact each other," stated Müller.

The center will certainly use measurements of albedo, back and also front-side plane-of-array irradiance and messing. There will be an unique focus on the distribution of rear-side irradiance measurements to analyze inequality losses originating from layout selections.

The desert environment and also high solar radiation offer advantages including small day-to-day variability, high soiling degrees and low rainfall. "These conditions are regular for several websites where new huge range nuclear power plant are intended: Chile, Mexico [the] Center East," said Müller. "We believe that an examination facility that mirrors such problems will certainly be specifically valuable."

Engie announced a 1 GW renewables growth plan for Chile in late 2019, with a planned investment of up to $1 billion. The first two projects in the plan-- the Capricorn Solar Park and the Calama Wind Site-- are presently being developed as well as building and construction also started on a third project, the Tamaya Solar Park, in the initial quarter.