Underwater performance of thin-film photovoltaic module immersed in shallow and deep waters along with possible applications

Kumar, Nallapaneni Manoj; Jiang, Xiaowen; Reddy, Guduru Ramakrishna; Jayakumar, Arunkumar; Praveen, K P; Kumar, T. Anil

doi:10.1016/j.rinp.2019.102768

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Due to land disputes between photovoltaic installations and development from other sectors such as agriculture, it has become difficult for PV power generation projects to find suitable terrestrial sites (Kumar and JayannaKanchikere, 2018;Ajitha et al, 2019). As one way of resolving this problem, scholars have explored water-based photovoltaic (WPVS) such as floating solar PV panels that can be mounted on top of unexploited water surface or bodies and submerged solar panels which can be lowered in water but still generate power (Kumar et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Performance of solar panels at various depths in stationary water

Yobes

Waita

Okeng’o

2022

Eth J Sci & Technol

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Photovoltaic Solar systems have become attractive for powering autonomous systems and various devices. So far, the installation and usage of solar photovoltaic systems has been limited to either land or space. Lately, underwater solar photovoltaic power generation has attracted interest due to some of its unique application in powering underwater devices. The thermal control and cooling that result makes it more dependable for underwater devices. Around the equator, and some other parts of the world, some regions can be quite hot compromising a panel performance. A systematic study on the performance of stationary under water panel using normal tap water would provide information on the applicability of underwater panels in such places. In this work, a detailed study was carried out to determine the performance of 20W monocrystalline photovoltaic solar panels locally acquired and placed at various water depths. A locally purchased plastic translucent water tank was filled with normal tap water and the panels placed in the water at various depths. Solar irradiance, ambient and panel temperature were obtained using a solar 02 device and an irradiance power meter which were connected to a solar current-voltage (I-V) analyzer. Data was collected at 30-minute intervals between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. East African Time (EAT) for panels at different depths up to 0.6m. The results revealed that as the water depth increased form 0 m to 0.6m, the panel temperature reduced by 15.48% (at a rate of 0.062 °C/cm), ambient temperature decreased by 5.13%, solar irradiance decreased by 63.79% while power output decreased by 75.00 %. It was noted that the submerged photovoltaic panels reduced the cleaning problem and power loss caused by high temperature. However, positioning the panels deep reduces the power production due to decreased irradiance which has a strong effect on the photocurrent and hence the power production of the panel. It is therefore advisable to keep the panels just below the water surface to maximize power production. The set up can be applied in very hot places for better power production.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies have revealed that submerged solar panels generate power (Ajitha et al, 2019;Hahn et al, 2019). For example, a study by Ajitha et al (2019) shows that two key parameters that are responsible for reducing the efficiency of PV are; the water absorption of solar irradiance and lack of a tangible thermal balance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of solar panels at various depths in stationary water

Yobes

Waita

Okeng’o

2022

Eth J Sci & Technol

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“…In recent years, photovoltaic systems are becoming very popular because of their enormous amount of clean and unlimited solar energy, which can be harvested through photovoltaic solar cells [1][2][3]. Among the various technologies that increase solar cells' efficiency, surface passivation treatment plays a key role in the silicon-based solar cell fabrication process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Passivation of Crystalline Silicon Wafer Using H2S Gas

et al. 2021

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We report the effects of H2S passivation on the effective minority carrier lifetime of crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers. c-Si wafers were thermally annealed under an H2S atmosphere at various temperatures. The initial minority carrier lifetime (6.97 μs) of a c-Si wafer without any passivation treatments was also measured for comparison. The highest minority carrier lifetime gain of 2030% was observed at an annealing temperature of 600 °C. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that S atoms were bonded to Si atoms after H2S annealing treatment. This indicates that the increase in minority carrier lifetime originating from the effect of sulfur passivation on the silicon wafer surface involves dangling bonds.

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“…At present, we could see different types of PV technology-based power generation plants, and they are visually represented in Figure 1. The recent advances in PV installations include roof-integrated photovoltaics (RIPV) [5], façade-integrated photovoltaics (FIPV) [6], building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) [7,8], building attached photovoltaics (BAPV) [8], canopy-mount solar photovoltaics (CMSPV) [9], vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV) [10]; road-and rail-integrated photovoltaics (RRIPV) [11,12], pole-mounted photovoltaics (PMPV) [13], floating solar photovoltaics (FSPV) or floatovoltaics (FPV) [14], underwater on-board solar photovoltaics (UobSPV) or submerged photovoltaics (SPV) [15], wavevoltaics [16], and solar photovoltaic tree (SPVT) [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…and peripherals of different infrastructures (e.g., BIPV, PMPV, etc.) such as buildings, poles, roads, and rail tracks [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Most of these do not cause any direct land footprint; however, a few of them have an apparent indirect land footprint, which is acceptable as they provide other benefits based on the inherent nature of the infrastructure (e.g., buildings are necessary for shelter; poles are required for electrical and communication cabling; street lighting, roads, and rail tracks allow for transportation).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar Cell Technology Selection for a PV Leaf Based on Energy and Sustainability Indicators—A Case of a Multilayered Solar Photovoltaic Tree

et al. 2020

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Harnessing energy from the sunlight using solar photovoltaic trees (SPVTs) has become popular at present as they reduce land footprint and offer numerous complimentary services that offset infrastructure. The SPVT’s complimentary services are noticeable in many ways, e.g., electric vehicle charging stations, landscaping, passenger shelters, onsite energy generated security poles, etc. Although the SPVT offers numerous benefits and services, its deployment is relatively slower due to the challenges it suffers. The most difficult challenges include the structure design, the photovoltaic (PV) cell technology selection for a leaf, and uncertainty in performance due to weather parameter variations. This paper aims to provide the most practical solution supported by the performance prioritization approach (PPA) framework for a typical multilayered SPVT. The proposed PPA framework considers the energy and sustainability indicators and helps in reporting the performance of a multilayered SPVT, with the aim of selecting an efficient PV leaf design. A three-layered SPVT (3-L SPVT) is simulated; moreover, the degradation-influenced lifetime energy performance and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were evaluated for three different PV-cell technologies, namely crystalline silicon (c-Si), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), and cadmium telluride (CdTe). While evaluating the performance of the 3-L SPVT, the power conversion efficiency, thermal regulation, degradation rate, and lifecycle carbon emissions were considered. The results of the 3-L SPVT were analyzed thoroughly, and it was found that in the early years, the c-Si PV leaves give better energy yields. However, when degradation and other influencing weather parameters were considered over its lifetime, the SPVT with c-Si leaves showed a lowered energy yield. Overall, the lifetime energy and CO2 emission results indicate that the CdTe PV leaf outperforms due to its lower degradation rate compared to c-Si and CIGS. On the other side, the benefits associated with CdTe cells, such as flexible and ultrathin glass structure as well as low-cost manufacturing, make them the best acceptable PV leaf for SPVT design. Through this investigation, we present the selection of suitable solar cell technology for a PV leaf.

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Underwater performance of thin-film photovoltaic module immersed in shallow and deep waters along with possible applications

Cited by 16 publications

References 18 publications

Performance of solar panels at various depths in stationary water

Performance of solar panels at various depths in stationary water

Surface Passivation of Crystalline Silicon Wafer Using H2S Gas

Solar Cell Technology Selection for a PV Leaf Based on Energy and Sustainability Indicators—A Case of a Multilayered Solar Photovoltaic Tree

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