Comparative assessment of the spectral impact on the energy yield of high concentrator and conventional photovoltaic technology

Abstract Photovoltaic materials are spectrally selected and their electrical output is affected by the spectral distribution of the incident irradiance. The performance of high concentrator photovoltaic (HCPV) systems is more influenced by the spectral changes than conventional single-junction photovoltaic (PV) systems due to the use of multi-junction (MJ) solar cells and optical devices. Despite this, the detailed comparison of the spectral impact on the electrical output of HCPV and PV technology under the same atmospheric conditions has not been addressed yet. Because of this, this paper aims to compare the spectral impact on the energy yield of both type of devices at a monthly and annual time scale at several locations with disparate climate conditions. The spectral dependence of both technologies is quantified by using the spectral factor (SF) index in conjunction with the Simple Model of Atmospheric Radiative Transfer of Sunshine (SMARTS) at five locations of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) database. The present paper shows that the current HCPV systems present annual spectral losses of around 5% with respect to PV systems at representative locations.