Solar spectral irradiance under overcast skies [solar cell performance effects]

The authors examine a particular aspect of cloudy-sky conditions that affects PV (photovoltaic) device performance, i.e. the solar spectral distribution under an overcast sky with respect to the spectral response of PV devices. The approach is to analyze several thousand measured spectral irradiance data that illustrate spectral shifts under cloud cover. The questions raised are how the transmission of clouds deviates from an assumed neutral density filter and whether the standard reference spectrum applied by the PV community to design and performance prediction is applicable for cloudy climates. Comparing the measurements with clear-sky simulations, the authors established a correlation between cloud thickness and alterations in the relative spectral transmission. Because of the approach used, these observed effects are true only for the statistical mean of a sufficiently large number of measurements