Form Approved
REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE
OMB No. 0704-0188
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OMB control number. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS.
1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YY)
2. REPORT TYPE
3. DATES COVERED (From - To)
April 2000
Technical Report
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
5a. CONTRACT NUMBER
5b. GRANT NUMBER
Evaluation of Photovoltaic Panels at the South Pole Station
5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER
6. AUTHOR(S)
5d. PROJECT NUMBER
Christopher R. Williams and John Rand
5e. TASK NUMBER
5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT
NUMBER
Engineer Research and Development Center, Corps of Engineers
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
72 Lyme Road
Technical Report TR-00-4
Hanover, New Hampshire 03755-1290
9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)
10. SPONSOR / MONITOR'S ACRONYM(S)
National Science Foundation
11. SPONSOR / MONITOR'S REPORT
Arlington, Virginia 22230
NUMBER(S)
12. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Available from NTIS, Springfield, Virginia 22161.
13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
14. ABSTRACT
For this study, commercially available photovoltaic (PV) panels of similar mechanical and electrical characteristics were procured from
four manufacturers, and their structural survivability and electrical performance were evaluated in the extreme harsh environment of the
South Pole, on the rooftop of the newly constructed Atmospheric Research Observatory (ARO). The PV panels were installed for 410 days.
During that time, they were exposed to varying amounts of inclement weather. Temperatures ranged from a low of 70 to a high of 20C,
with average wind speeds of approximately 5 m s1, gusting to 20 m s1. Prior to removal, each PV panel was inspected to see if the harsh
environment degraded the structural characteristics of the panel frame, glazing, panel backing, and junction box. The inspection showed
that the PV panels had not noticeably degraded during the 410-day exposure. The electrical performance of the PV panels depended on two
factors: sun angle and visibility. On days with cloud cover or windblown snow, the PV panels' output power was reduced significantly. With
sun angles approaching the highest limits and visibility being high, the PV panels approached their rated output power.
15. SUBJECT TERMS
Photovoltaic panels
Solar energy
South Pole
16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF:
17. LIMITATION OF
18. NUMBER
19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON
OF ABSTRACT
OF PAGES
a. REPORT
b. ABSTRACT
c. THIS PAGE
19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (include area code)
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to contents
Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)
]Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239.18
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