Visualization of operational performance of grid-connected PV systems in selected European countries

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the analyses of operational performance of small-sized residential PV systems, connected to the grid, in The Netherlands and some other European countries over three consecutive years. Web scraping techniques were employed to collect detailed yield data at high time resolution (5-15 min) from a large number (31,844) of systems with 741 MWp of total capacity, delivering data continuously for at least one year. Annual system yield data was compared from small and medium-sized installations. Cartography and spatial analysis techniques in a geographic information system (GIS) were used to visualize yield and performance ratio, which greatly facilitates the assessment of performance for geographically scattered systems. Variations in yield and performance ratios over the years were observed with higher values in 2015 due to higher irradiation values. The potential of specific yield and performance maps lies in the updating of monitoring databases, quality control of data, and availability of irradiation data. The automatic generation of performance maps could be a trend in future mapping.