Advances and limitations of increasing solar irradiance for concentrating photovoltaics thermal system

Mussad Alzahrani, Katie Shanks and Tapas K. Mallick

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2021, vol. 138, issue C

Abstract: Concentrating photovoltaic-thermal (CPVT) technology harnesses solar energy by increasing the solar density upon cells using optical concentrators. CPVT systems are the focus of ongoing research and improvements to achieve the highest potential for energy harnessing and utilization. Increasing the concentration ratio for high energy generation raises many advances and limitations in the CPVT design. This article highlights the influence of the temperature with an increasing concentration ratio on CPVT components in terms of single-/multi-junction semiconductor materials, primary and secondary optical concentrator materials, and thermal receiver design. To achieve this, the theory of single- and multi-junction solar cell electrical characteristics (Voc,Isc,FF and η) is first explained to understand their dependence on the temperature and concentration ratio. An extensive literature review discussing the advantages, disadvantages, and potential of current CPVT research is given. This includes graphical and tabular summaries of many of the various CPVT design performances.

Keywords: Concentrated photovoltaic thermal (CPVT); Semiconductor materials; Bandgap energy; Thermal receiver; Optical concentrator and concentration ratio (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120308029
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:rensus:v:138:y:2021:i:c:s1364032120308029

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 600126/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2020.110517

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews is currently edited by L. Kazmerski

More articles in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().