Analysis of the spectral variations on the performance of high concentrator photovoltaic modules operating under different real climate conditions

Multi-junction (MJ) solar cells show an important dependence on the incident spectrum due to the internal series connection of several cells with different band gap energies. The influence of spectral variations on the performance of HCPV modules or systems is different from that in MJ solar cells since they use optical devices to concentrate the light on the solar cell surface. The spectral distribution of irradiance is affected by atmospheric parameters and changes during the course of day, month or year. Because of this, several authors have done different studies to analyse and quantify the spectral effects on the performance of HCPV modules. However, there are still important issues that have not been addressed. In this paper, a deep analysis of the spectral effects on the performance of different HCPV modules with different multi-junction solar cells and Fresnel lenses on an annual time scale and their study and comparison at locations with different climate conditions is conducted. In order to address this issue, ground-based climatologies at the locations studied, spectra simulations with the SMARTS model and the spectral factor of a HCPV module have been used. Results show that the annual spectral losses vary from 6% to 51% depending on the climate conditions of the location and the HCPV module. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.