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Review of Case Materials
Reviews records, documents, testimony, data, and other relevant materials and consults with counsel regarding technical issues related to the matter.
Provide Expert Analysis
Applies specialized knowledge and experience to evaluate the technical or professional issues involved.
Form Expert Opinions
Develops independent, supportable opinions based on the available evidence and relevant standards.
Prepare Expert Reports
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A Solar Energy Expert Witness can compare the solar resource and system configuration with the electricity the installation actually produced. Relevant evidence may include irradiance and weather records, array orientation, system capacity, DC and AC production, inverter data, meter records, operating availability, shading, maintenance history, alarms, and production forecasts. DOE explains that photovoltaic systems use semiconductor cells to convert sunlight directly into electricity, with cells assembled into modules and arrays and associated equipment converting their DC output for use by an AC electrical system.
The comparison should use the assumptions underlying the forecast rather than treating projected production as a guaranteed output. An expert may examine solar-resource data, system size, module and inverter characteristics, orientation, temperature, shading, soiling, wiring losses, equipment availability, degradation assumptions, and curtailment. NREL's PVWatts methodology models photovoltaic electricity production and recognizes system losses associated with factors such as soiling, shading, mismatch, wiring, connections, light-induced degradation, system age, and availability, while modeling inverter performance separately.
Photovoltaic output changes with the sunlight reaching the array and the operating temperature of the cells. Shading can reduce the solar energy available to individual modules or strings, while higher cell temperatures generally reduce voltage and can lower conversion efficiency. DOE notes that PV-cell efficiency depends on the characteristics of incident light and that elevated cell temperature generally produces a larger decrease in voltage than the accompanying increase in current. System configuration also matters: DOE notes that microinverters can reduce the extent to which shading or a problem at one module affects the output available from other modules.
Energy, +4
Energy
Prepares clear, well-supported expert reports outlining methodology, analysis, findings, and opinions.
Provide Deposition Testimony
Explains findings and opinions under oath and responds to questioning during deposition testimony.
Testify in Court
Presents specialized findings and opinions clearly to judges, juries, arbitrators, or other decision-makers.
The analysis can compare DC measurements from the photovoltaic array with inverter input and AC output, alarms, operating states, string-level data, meter records, protective-device events, and utility interconnection information. If expected DC power is available but AC production is abnormal, the evidence may point toward the inverter, controls, or interconnection rather than the photovoltaic modules themselves. DOE describes the inverter as the equipment that converts the DC electricity produced by PV modules into AC electricity. For grid-connected distributed energy resources, IEEE 1547-2018, together with its active IEEE 1547a-2020 amendment, provides current interconnection requirements addressing performance, abnormal operating conditions, power quality, islanding, interoperability, and testing at the electric-power-system interface.
