Outdoor measurement of high concentration photovoltaic receivers operating with partial shading on the primary optics

This paper presents the outdoor measurements that have been carried out on two high concentration photovoltaic receivers integrated with Fresnel lens-based primary optics by reproducing partial shading conditions on the primary optics. Each solar receiver is composed of a multi-junction solar cell, a bypass diode, a heat sink and a secondary optical element. From the measurements, the electrical behavior of the concentration receivers under partial shading on the primary lens is analyzed. A method is then proposed for the calculation of the maximum power output of concentration receivers under partial shading on the primary lens based on the determination of the equivalent irradiance. The accuracy of the method is evaluated taking into account the experimental data.