KEYWORDS: Reliability, Solar energy, Instrument modeling, Performance modeling, Solar cells, Photovoltaics, Physics, Systems modeling, Video, Current controlled current source
The U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative was launched in 2011 to make subsidy-free solar electricity cost competitive with conventional energy sources by the end of the decade. Research in reliability can play a major role in realizing the SunShot goal of $0.06/kWh. By improving photovoltaic module lifetime and reducing degradation rates, a system’s lifetime energy output is increased. Increasing confidence in photovoltaic performance prediction can lower perceived investment risk and thus the cost of capital. Accordingly, in 2015, SunShot expects to award more than $40 million through its SunShot National Laboratory Multiyear Partnership (SuNLaMP) and Physics of Reliability: Evaluating Design Insights for Component Technologies in Solar (PREDICTS) 2 funding programs, for research into reliability topics such as determining acceleration factors, modeling degradation rates and failure mechanisms, improving predictive performance models, and developing new test methods and instrumentation.
Over the past 15 years, tremendous effort has been put forth into increasing the efficiency of multijunction solar cells used in concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) systems. Because the cell represents a small portion of the total CPV system cost, modest improvements in cell efficiencies have a large impact on reducing the levelized cost of electricity. To address the need for higher efficiency CPV cells, Solar Junction is currently manufacturing a lattice-matched multijunction solar cell that employs a 1 eV GaInNAsSb bottom subcell in lieu of the traditional Ge subcell. Our standard 5.5 mm 2 product has recently achieved a world record in power conversion efficiency. In this article, we report on the design, performance, and integration of this high-performance cell. The importance of overdriving the GaInNAsSb bottom subcell is discussed in addition to the optimization of the anti-reflection coating used for cells under glass secondary optics.
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