Photovoltaics Proving Grounds

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The PV Proving Grounds Core Capability supports field research to further the US PV industry. Field research is focused on three key areas; PV Lifetime, the Regional Test Centers (RTC) and Emerging Technologies. Managed by Sandia National Laboratories in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Core field laboratories are located at the Photovoltaic Systems Research Laboratory (PSEL) at Sandia and the Outdoor Test Facility (OTF) at NREL. These two sites maintain similar outdoor capabilities and are supported by complimentary indoor module characterization laboratories. The PV Proving Grounds leverages multiple remote sites to enable research in a variety of extreme climate zones within the US. Currently, these additional sites are located in Cocoa, FL and Las Vegas, NV. A newly constructed third site in Houghton, MI joins these two in FY22. To date, the Core field labs and remote sites have jointly deployed more than 550kW of grid-tied PV systems, representing 20 companies and 42 different technologies.