Geospatial Mapping of Spectral Mismatch of Multi-Junction Photovoltaic Modules Using Satellite-Retreived Spectral Irradiance Data

We present a method for estimating the effect of variations in the solar radiation spectrum on the performance of multi-junction PV devices. This method combines measured spectral response data for each subcell in a multi-junction device with hourly spectrally resolved solar radiation data retrieved from satellite images. Calculating the short-circuit current for every hour in a year it is possible to approximate how much energy a PV device will produce compared to what it would have produced under the standard solar spectrum. The investigation was carried out for two PV technologies: a tandem amorphous silicon module and a multi-junction III-V type cell for concentrators. The calculations were done for an area covering Europe and Africa. The results show that the tandem a-Si will produce more energy in nearly all areas but the amount of gain varies strongly, from about +2% in desert areas and about +4-5% in most of Europe to +10-12% in Tropical Africa. In contrast the concentrator cell is less affected by changes to the direct normal irradiance spectrum. The effect is mostly slightly negative, from around -1% to -2% in most desert areas and in Europe to -4% over the Arabian Peninsula. It was found that for the a-Si tandem device the top cell is nearly always current-limiting while for the multi-junction cell the junction that is limiting will depend on geographical location.

VOURLIOTI Paraskevi;  HULD Thomas;  GRACIA AMILLO Ana;  NORTON Matthew; 

2015-12-10

WIP

JRC94941

3-936338-39-6,   

http://www.eupvsec-proceedings.com/proceedings?paper=34773,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC94941,   

10.4229/EUPVSEC20152015-5AV.6.25,