IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v256y2026iphs0960148125022128.html

A study on long-term operation and performance loss rates of various PV technologies in eastern Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Gulkowski, Slawomir
  • Muñoz Díez, José Vicente
  • Aguilera Tejero, Jorge
  • Dragan, Piotr
  • Nofuentes, Gustavo

Abstract

Despite Poland's rapid PV deployment, long-term system performance studies are virtually nonexistent. This paper analyzes the four-year performance of four small PV systems in Bordziłówka, eastern Poland, each using a different technology: polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si), amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). The analysis focuses on energy yields, yield losses, performance metrics and performance loss rates (PLR, in %·y−1), the latter calculated via Classical Series Decomposition and Year-on-Year methods. Pc-Si outperformed the others, with an average annual yield 2 % higher than CIGS and 25–60 % higher than a-Si and CdTe. Performance ratio (PR) values ranged from 0.88 to 0.85 for pc-Si and 0.87–0.82 for CIGS, while a-Si and CdTe showed lower PR (0.66–0.63 and 0.46–0.26, respectively). CdTe exhibited the highest degradation with PLR of −15.2 ± 4.45 %·y−1 (YoY), contrasting with pc-Si's PLR −0.67 ± 0.89 %·y−1 (YoY), which aligns with warranty standards and global literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Gulkowski, Slawomir & Muñoz Díez, José Vicente & Aguilera Tejero, Jorge & Dragan, Piotr & Nofuentes, Gustavo, 2026. "A study on long-term operation and performance loss rates of various PV technologies in eastern Poland," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PH).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:ph:s0960148125022128
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124548
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148125022128
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2025.124548?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Milosavljević, Dragana D. & Pavlović, Tomislav M. & Mirjanić, Dragoljub LJ. & Divnić, Darko, 2016. "Photovoltaic solar plants in the Republic of Srpska - current state and perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 546-560.
    2. Limmanee, Amornrat & Udomdachanut, Nuttakarn & Songtrai, Sasiwimon & Kaewniyompanit, Songpakit & Sato, Yukinobu & Nakaishi, Masaki & Kittisontirak, Songkiate & Sriprapha, Kobsak & Sakamoto, Yukitaka, 2016. "Field performance and degradation rates of different types of photovoltaic modules: A case study in Thailand," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 12-17.
    3. Nofuentes, Gustavo & de la Casa, Juan & Solís-Alemán, Ernesto M. & Fernández, Eduardo F., 2017. "Spectral impact on PV performance in mid-latitude sunny inland sites: Experimental vs. modelled results," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 1857-1868.
    4. Ameur, Arechkik & Berrada, Asmae & Bouaichi, Abdellatif & Loudiyi, Khalid, 2022. "Long-term performance and degradation analysis of different PV modules under temperate climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 37-51.
    5. Bala Bhavya Kausika & Panagiotis Moraitis & Wilfried G. J. H. M. Van Sark, 2018. "Visualization of Operational Performance of Grid-Connected PV Systems in Selected European Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-10, May.
    6. Mahmoud Dhimish, 2020. "Performance Ratio and Degradation Rate Analysis of 10-Year Field Exposed Residential Photovoltaic Installations in the UK and Ireland," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-14, May.
    7. Baldus-Jeursen, Christopher & Côté, Alexandre & Deer, Tanya & Poissant, Yves, 2021. "Analysis of photovoltaic module performance and life cycle degradation for a 23 year-old array in Quebec, Canada," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 547-556.
    8. Agata Zdyb & Slawomir Gulkowski, 2020. "Performance Assessment of Four Different Photovoltaic Technologies in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, January.
    9. Teodoro Adrada Guerra & Julio Amador Guerra & Beatriz Orfao Tabernero & Guillermo De la Cruz García, 2017. "Comparative Energy Performance Analysis of Six Primary Photovoltaic Technologies in Madrid (Spain)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-23, June.
    10. Ozden, Talat & Akinoglu, Bulent G. & Turan, Rasit, 2017. "Long term outdoor performances of three different on-grid PV arrays in central Anatolia – An extended analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 182-195.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Romero-Fiances, Irene & Livera, Andreas & Theristis, Marios & Makrides, George & Stein, Joshua S. & Nofuentes, Gustavo & de la Casa, Juan & Georghiou, George E., 2022. "Impact of duration and missing data on the long-term photovoltaic degradation rate estimation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 738-748.
    2. Mehdi, Maryam & Ammari, Nabil & Alami Merrouni, Ahmed & El Gallassi, Hicham & Dahmani, Mohamed & Ghennioui, Abdellatif, 2023. "An experimental comparative analysis of different PV technologies performance including the influence of hot-arid climatic parameters: Toward a realistic yield assessment for desert locations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 695-716.
    3. Tomasz Janusz Teleszewski & Mirosław Żukowski & Dorota Anna Krawczyk & Antonio Rodero, 2021. "Analysis of the Applicability of the Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants in the Locations with a Temperate Climate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-19, May.
    4. Yadav, Amit Kumar & Chandel, S.S., 2017. "Identification of relevant input variables for prediction of 1-minute time-step photovoltaic module power using Artificial Neural Network and Multiple Linear Regression Models," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 955-969.
    5. Ameur, Arechkik & Berrada, Asmae & Bouaichi, Abdellatif & Loudiyi, Khalid, 2022. "Long-term performance and degradation analysis of different PV modules under temperate climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 37-51.
    6. Tuhibur Rahman & Ahmed Al Mansur & Molla Shahadat Hossain Lipu & Md. Siddikur Rahman & Ratil H. Ashique & Mohamad Abou Houran & Rajvikram Madurai Elavarasan & Eklas Hossain, 2023. "Investigation of Degradation of Solar Photovoltaics: A Review of Aging Factors, Impacts, and Future Directions toward Sustainable Energy Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-30, April.
    7. Irene Romero-Fiances & Emilio Muñoz-Cerón & Rafael Espinoza-Paredes & Gustavo Nofuentes & Juan De la Casa, 2019. "Analysis of the Performance of Various PV Module Technologies in Peru," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, January.
    8. Chen, Di & Peng, Qiuzhi & Lu, Jiating & Huang, Peiyi & Song, Yufei & Peng, Fengcan, 2024. "Classification and segmentation of five photovoltaic types based on instance segmentation for generating more refined photovoltaic data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 376(PB).
    9. Bouaichi, Abdellatif & El Amrani, Aumeur & Ouhadou, Malika & Lfakir, Aberrazak & Messaoudi, Choukri, 2020. "In-situ performance and degradation of three different photovoltaic module technologies installed in arid climate of Morocco," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    10. Mateo, C. & Hernández-Fenollosa, M.A. & Montero, Á. & Seguí-Chilet, S., 2022. "Ageing and seasonal effects on amorphous silicon photovoltaic modules in a Mediterranean climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 74-88.
    11. Dag, H.I. & Buker, M.S., 2020. "Performance evaluation and degradation assessment of crystalline silicon based photovoltaic rooftop technologies under outdoor conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 1292-1300.
    12. Slawomir Gulkowski, 2022. "Specific Yield Analysis of the Rooftop PV Systems Located in South-Eastern Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-20, May.
    13. Quansah, David A. & Adaramola, Muyiwa S., 2019. "Assessment of early degradation and performance loss in five co-located solar photovoltaic module technologies installed in Ghana using performance ratio time-series regression," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 900-910.
    14. Piotr Olczak & Małgorzata Olek & Dominika Matuszewska & Artur Dyczko & Tomasz Mania, 2021. "Monofacial and Bifacial Micro PV Installation as Element of Energy Transition—The Case of Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-22, January.
    15. Ewelina Krawczak, 2023. "A Comparative Analysis of Measured and Simulated Data of PV Rooftop Installations Located in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-17, August.
    16. Polo, Jesús & Sanz-Saiz, Carlos, 2025. "Development of spectral mismatch models for BIPV applications in building façades," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    17. Marcin Bukowski & Janusz Majewski & Agnieszka Sobolewska, 2020. "Macroeconomic Electric Energy Production Efficiency of Photovoltaic Panels in Single-Family Homes in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.
    18. Waldemar Izdebski & Katarzyna Kosiorek, 2023. "Analysis and Evaluation of the Possibility of Electricity Production from Small Photovoltaic Installations in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-19, January.
    19. AL-Rasheedi, Majed & Gueymard, Christian A. & Al-Khayat, Mohammad & Ismail, Alaa & Lee, Jared A. & Al-Duaj, Hamad, 2020. "Performance evaluation of a utility-scale dual-technology photovoltaic power plant at the Shagaya Renewable Energy Park in Kuwait," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    20. Ali, Hayder & Khan, Hassan Abbas, 2020. "Techno-economic evaluation of two 42 kWp polycrystalline-Si and CIS thin-film based PV rooftop systems in Pakistan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 347-357.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:ph:s0960148125022128. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.