Impact of Irradiance Data on the Energy Yield Modeling of Dual-Junction Solar Module Stacks for One-Sun Applications

Abstract

With silicon-based tandem solar cells nearing commercialization, the significance of predicting the outdoor performance of tandem solar devices is growing. Although several models exist to calculate the outdoor performance, the availability of high-resolution irradiance data is limited. Therefore, we study the influence of the resolution of the irradiance data on the predicted energy yield of a 2-terminal III-V/Si tandem device. As an exemplary location, Golden, CO, USA, was chosen. We found that a wavelength resolution as low as 50 nm leads to a deviation of only 0.2% relative. We especially found that satellite-derived spectral data that are split into Kato bands lead to a deviation of 0.7% relative for Golden, CO, and, thus, are sufficient to model the energy yield of tandem devices. Confirming this finding for further locations has to be the scope of future work.

The annual-hydrogen-yield-climatic-response ratio: evaluating the real-life performance of integrated solar water splitting devices

“…First, the model calculates the angle of incidence (Θ) from the device tilt angle, the device azimuth angle, the solar azimuth, and the solar zenith angle using the pvlib Python-package. 11 The operating temperature of the device is then estimated from the global irradiance I using the following simple empirical equation: 12 T device = I • 0.025 K m 2 W -1 + T ambient .…”

“…Next, the external quantum efficiency (EQE) in both the AlGaAs and Si junction for direct irradiation is obtained from the angle of incidence and the device temperature using the OPTOS formalism. 12,30,31 With this formalism, the absorptance, reflectance, and transmittance of the incident light across all layers of the module stack (see zoom in in Fig. 1) can be modelled.…”

“…The parameters for the AlGaAs and Si cells were obtained from literature. 12 The parameters for the AEM electroylzer are based on the temperature-dependent experimental data from Vincent et al 34 and are extracted using the fitting routine described above (see Fig. S1 in the SI).…”

“…For this location, the same spectrum for both direct and diffuse irradiance is therefore assumed as an approximation as suggested recently. 12 The hourly resolved solar spectra for direct and diffuse radiation at location 2 were modelled using the libRadtran software package employing the predefined "subarctic summer" and "subarctic winter" atmosphere datasets for the year 2021. 8,22,23 For the sake of simplicity, a clear sky (no cloud cover) is assumed over the course of the whole year.…”

The annual-hydrogen-yield-climatic-response ratio: evaluating the real-life performance of integrated solar water splitting devices

“…Next, the external quantum efficiency (EQE) in both the AlGaAs and Si junction for direct irradiation is obtained from the angle of incidence and the device temperature using the OPTOS formalism. 15,36,37 With this formalism, the absorptance, reflectance, and transmittance of the incident light across all layers of the module stack (see zoom in in Fig. 1) can be modelled.…”