Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWSHow do solar modules age in the desert? – Fraunhofer CSP and IRESEN in Morocco intensify their cooperation
With a new project for the assessment of solar modules under the climate conditions of Morocco, the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP and the Moroccan Institut de Recherche en Energie Solaire et Energies Nouvelles (IRESEN) are strengthening their cooperation. A corresponding project agreement was signed by the Head of the Fraunhofer CSP, Prof. Dr. Jörg Bagdahn, and Badr Ikken, Head of the IRESEN on the sidelines, during the »German-Moroccan Energy Partnership« event attended by the German Federal Minister of the Economy Sigmar Gabriel and the Moroccan Energy Minister Abdelkader Amara in Rabat.
The objective of the project agreement is to examine and optimize solar modules with regard to their yield performance under the climatic conditions of Morocco.
»We are very pleased to continue the cooperation established in recent years with this new project and to continue to support the development of renewable energy in Morocco «, explained Professor Jörg Bagdahn, Head of the Fraunhofer CSP. Badr Ikken, Head of the IRESEN is also convinced of the importance of the cooperation: »Following the successful erection of the test park together with the Fraunhofer CSP, we are now continuing the successful scientific cooperation.«
Within the two-year period the project partners will work on optimizing solar modules and systems for use under extreme conditions. The focus will be on material ageing and the pollution behavior of solar modules. Improvements can be made visible through detailed data analysis of the performance of different module technologies under the specific local climatic conditions. In addition, continual scientific exchange will take place through workshops, seminars and training.
The Fraunhofer CSP and IRESEN have been cooperating since 2012. Working together closely, they developed test platforms for photovoltaics modules and systems, which were finally started up in 2015 in the »Green Energy Park« (GEP) in the Moroccan town of Ben Guerir. The GEP erected by IRESEN and OCP S.A. GEP is the largest test platform of its type for photovoltaics and solar thermal energy in Africa. In the test park the performance characteristics of solar modules and systems and the locally dependent effects such as solar irradiation, atmosphere, wind, pollution, rainfall and temperature can be determined in real time. Moroccan and international companies and research facilities are already using the test installations to assess their modules.