News - as of 2021

Long-term correlation of operational data with weather patterns

(27.09.2021)

ARTICLE IN «BULLETIN SEV/VSE»

Photovoltaics (PV) is becoming a mainstay of power supply. It is therefore worthwhile to investigate the weather influences on PV yield in order to refine business plans or optimize interconnection with other energy sources. Long-term operating data from the Mont-Soleil solar power plant were correlated with meteorological data for this purpose.

The point of departure for this study was the hypothesis that the larger than average annual output generated at the Mont-Soleil solar power plant above Saint-Imier (canton of Bern) in 2020 could be linked to the lockdown that had been enforced in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two possible explanations for the increase in incident solar radiation have been cited: firstly, the severely limited travel among the Swiss population and, secondly, the resulting fall in aerosol emissions. To put this hypothesis to the test, and more generally to study the impact of the weather on PV energy yield, a 28-year time series of operational data from the Mont-Soleil solar power plant was correlated with meteorological data from the same period and analyzed.

Full text not available in English

See full text in French:  Le rendement PV croît-il lors d'une pandémie?

See full text in German:  Erhöht eine Pandemie den PV-Ertrag?