Re: [pvusers] Delamination of Siemens M55 modules

["Robert Warren" <robertwarren@mail.com>]

Dear Rudolph.
 If you only found 1 (one) defective module out of 10560, then that plant, and the Siemens factory should be given a medal for such near perfection!  Most delamination occurs in the first few years of the life of a module, again, due to mis-handling or to extreme temperature variations in harsh climates, such as the Swiss Alps. If you have not seen any delamination yet, then it is very likely that the plant will function well for many years to come. I used a lot of modules which were recycled from the first big Arco Solar Plant in Carizzo Plains (the high desert) of Southern California. (Arco was later sold to Siemens, so it was the same technology). These modules were originally installed with mirrors on both sides, so they got 3 times the normal amount of sun, and yet they still performed well! They did turn brown from the intense heat, but they didn't de-laminate.
 The only thing you might have to worry about is that all plastics eventually oxidize and start to lose some of their UV resistance characteristics, or they just turn brittle. But as you have so many panels with only a single defective one, the main recommendation would be to invest in a few replacements to have on hand in case you have a few more failures in the next ten years. Otherwise, there is nothing to do. If is isn't broke, don't fix it! Your M55's seem to be a particularly good batch, but that isn't surprising, as they were designed to a uniformly high standard, even though the plastics were not as well developed back then.
Regards,
Robert Warren
Senior Engineer,
Solar Century
www.solarcentury.co.uk 

----- Original Message -----
From: Rudolf Minder <rudolf.minder@bluewin.ch>
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2002 08:25:44 +0200
To: pvusers@crest.org
Subject: [pvusers] Delamination of Siemens M55 modules 


> Thanks for your comments.
> The reason for my posting was that I am responsible for the R+D
> aspects of a 500 kW plant equipped with 10'560  M55 modules, now
> operating since 10 years. The plant is located in the Jura mountains
> in a rather cold environment. It performs well with a performance
> ratio of typically close to 0.8. We recently measured all 440 string
> currents and only found 1 (one) defective module out of 10560.
> That's quite good for a 10 yrs old plant I guess.
> Up to now we did not see major delamination effects in
> this plant, just a few isolated small spots.
> The problem is that I heard from another M55 installation of similar age
> that apparently shows major signs of delamination which in my opinion
> will reduce the life of such modules drastically. I just would like to
> collect some info on this problem in order to judge the risk for the
> remaining life of our plant. Of course I hope that the reported
> problems are related to a particular production batch and not a
> general M55 problem...
> Rudolf

What will we do if there is another fuel shortage? 
Did you know that there is a pollution free, completely renewable fuel which you can use right now in your own car? 
Don't replace the engine, replace the fuel. Check out my website on making your own fuel: 
http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com 
robertwarren@mail.com

-- 
__________________________________________________________
Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com
http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup


--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*
  List sponsored by CREST/REPP  
	http://solstice.crest.org/   http://www.repp.org/