Spectral Losses of High Concentrator Photovoltaic Modules Depending on Latitude.

High concentrator photovoltaic (HCPV) modules and systems are affected by changes on the incident solar spectrum. It is well known that among all the atmospheric parameters, the air mass has the largest impact on the spectral behavior of HCPV devices. The air mass can be considered as a geometrical parameter which depends entirely on the Sun's zenith angle. Because of this, the yield of HCPV modules is affected by latitude. In this paper, a new method to estimate the gains/losses of energy due to the spectral impact has been introduced. Furthermore, the annual spectral losses depending on latitude have been calculated for several theoretical modules. For default values defined in the standard AM1.5d ASTM G-173-03 spectrum, results show that the spectral losses are almost independent of latitude for locations with low latitude values. Losses between 3% and 5% on the annual energy yield have been estimated for those areas. For high latitudes, the losses increase until they reach values between 10% and 14%. Results depend on the multijunction solar cells and optical devices of the HCPV module considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]