Quantifying the impact of individual atmospheric parameters on CPV system power and energy yield

The performance of concentrator photovoltaic systems can be characterized by the power output under reference conditions and the output energy yield under realistic solar illumination. The impact of air mass, aerosols and precipitable water on the rated power of a particular concentrator system design has been quantified, with aerosol becoming important at certain locations. Time-resolved simulations under cloudless-skies are used to estimate the energy yields harvested by a real concentrator system at a range of locations when levels of knowledge regarding atmospheric parameters are limited. We demonstrate an uncertainty of up to 75% in energy yield between the simplest and most complex cases can occur over an annual period for the same concentrator system design.