Long-Term Performance Estimation of a 500X Concentrator Photovoltaic System
Abstract
In order to reduce the power generation cost for a photovoltaic (PV) system, a prototype of a 500X concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system with dome Fresnel lens was developed (Araki et al, 2005). Field tests of a prototype of a CVP system were carried out at Toyohashi, Japan, for two test periods: June 2004 to September 2005 and October 2005 to May 2009 (Kemmoku et al., 2005). In this study, the long-term system performance of a prototype of the CPV system was estimated along with the system efficiency by using the data collected during the second test period. In addition, the factors that influence the system efficiency were also investigated using the open-circuit voltage, fill factor (FF), and I-V curve data for the CPV module.