Abstract
Owing to the diverse photovoltaic (PV) systems available commercially, ranging from the stationary silicon-based PV panels to 2-axes tracker concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems and dynamic nature of meteorological data, energy planners and PV system designer require a simple but accurate methodology to understand the economic viability of a renewable solar PV plant. An electrical rating methodology is proposed for evaluating the long-term performance for assorted PV systems, providing a common "playing field" to consumers, planners and manufacturers of PV systems. Given a meteorological condition, the output based approach or electrical rating of renewable energy system is the key for economic and environmental CO2 emission evaluations. Despite the overwhelming catalog data furnished by PV manufacturers, the long-term electricity rating of a PV system is deemed to be a quick and accurate method for the evaluation of economic viability and the determination of plant sizes and power production from a PV facility. This paper presents and analyses the long term performances, as monthly and overall electrical ratings in kWhim2.year of two concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) prototypes, the mini dish Cassegrain-type and the Fresnel lens CPVs with triple junction solar cells, operating under the meteorological conditions of Singapore and compares performances with the other photovoltaic systems. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.