On the annual energy yield of perovskite/silicon tandem modules with different bottom cell technologies and optimized top cell properties for different locations

Abstract

At standard test conditions (STC), the performance of photovoltaic modules is compared using efficiency. As irradiance and module temperature fluctuate over the year and STC efficiency does not assess the performance of the module accurately in real world conditions, the annual energy yield is used instead as performance metric. Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells are being massively researched and sought after in PV industry for their efficiency well above 34% with further growth perspective. In this work, to evaluate and compare performance of different perovskite/silicon tandem photovoltaic (PV) modules based on different bottom cell technologies, we use a hybrid modelling approach. Such approach, combining experimentally obtained and simulated current-voltage curves, flexibly predicts the annual energy yield of novel tandem PV modules via our PVMD toolbox and enables their optimization in any location. In particular, considering (i) mono- and bi-facial architectures, (ii) 2-terminal and 4-terminal module configurations, and (iii) silicon heterojunction or novel poly-SiOx passivated c-Si solar bottom cells, we compare the annual energy yield of different perovskite/silicon tandem modules and we optimize their performance in different locations with respect to different perovskite thickness and bandgaps