Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has won a $1.3-million PREDICTS2 award to develop accelerated-ageing protocols for photovoltaic modules. The grant is part of US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) SunShot Initiative.
EPRI will lead the project. And Sandia National Laboratories, Southern Company and Southern Research will collaborate with EPRI on the venture aimed at comparing PV panels made to undergo accelerated ageing in an environmental chamber with their new counterparts.
The panels will be tested at Southeastern Solar Research Center, established last year by Southern Company, EPRI and SR on the campus of SR in Birmingham, Alabama.
The first PREDICTS program, launched in 2013, focused on the development of models to understand and predict equipment failure.
The DOE SunShot Initiative is a collaborative, national effort that drives innovation to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade.
Through SunShot, DOE supports efforts by private companies, universities and national laboratories to drive down the cost of solar electricity to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Ajith Kumar S