Development of procedures and equipment for indoor characterization of concentrator photovoltaic systems

Abstract

The high concentrator photovoltaic (HCPV) modules, as their name suggests, concentrate the sun light by means of affordable optics onto high efficiency and costly multi-junction (MJ) solar cells (hence reducing the needed semiconductor area). To drive down costs and to increase the commercial opportunities of this technology, the approach commonly taken is to improve the system efficiency. Currently, the record efficiency for CPV modules is in the order of 35%-36% which almost double the numbers given for flat panels. To reach these numbers in production line or even to exceed them, proper characterization procedures specific for the CPV technology are needed. However, there is a distinct lack of methods and testing instrumentation as neither international standards nor commercialized equipment are available.