Outdoor performance comparison of concentrator photovoltaic and flat-plate systems

Output characteristics of tracking type concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system, multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) PV system, and CIGS PV system were analyzed in the data period of a year from August 2013 to July 2014. In this study, we analyzed the influence of environmental factors using average photon energy (APE) and temperature of solar cell (Tcell). The characteristics of 14 kW CPV system, 50 kW multi-crystalline silicon PV system, 60 kW CIGS PV system were evaluated and compared. As a result, the output performance of CPV was highest between the three systems at the most frequent conditions of outdoor environment.