Simulated Potential for Enhanced Performance of Mechanically Stacked Hybrid III-V/Si Tandem Photovoltaic Modules Using DC-DC Converters

Sara MacAlpine, David C. Bobela, Sarah Kurtz, Matthew P. Lumb, Kenneth J. Schmieder, James E. Moore, Robert J. Walters, Kirstin Alberi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus Citations

Abstract

This work examines a tandem module design with GaInP2 mechanically stacked on top of crystalline Si, using a detailed photovoltaic (PV) system model to simulate four-terminal (4T) unconstrained and two-terminal voltage-matched (2T VM) parallel architectures. Module-level power electronics is proposed for the 2T VM module design to enhance its performance over the breadth of temperatures experienced by a typical PV installation. Annual, hourly simulations of various scenarios indicate that this design can reduce annual energy losses to ∼0.5% relative to the 4T module configuration. Consideration is given to both performance and practical design for building or ground mount installations, emphasizing compatibility with existing standard Si modules.

Original languageAmerican English
Article number042501
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Photonics for Energy
Volume7
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-5K00-70336

Keywords

  • III-V silicon multijunction solar cells
  • module-level power electronics
  • PV system simulation and modeling
  • tandem photovoltaic modules

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