Energy yield framework to simulate thin film CIGS solar cells and analyze limitations of the technology
2025

Evaluating CIGS Solar Cells Performance

publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Ramesh Santhosh, Tuomiranta Arttu, Yordanov Georgi H., Badran Hussein, Hajjiah Ali, Vermang Bart, Poortmans Jef

Primary Institution: Imec

Hypothesis

How does the performance of CIGS solar technology compare to crystalline silicon technology under various conditions?

Conclusion

CIGS solar technology shows comparable performance to crystalline silicon in high-irradiance and high-temperature conditions, but underperforms in low-light scenarios.

Supporting Evidence

  • The CIGS technology has shown a world record efficiency exceeding 23% on lab-scale cells.
  • The energy yield model demonstrated high accuracy with an nMBE of ~1% and nRMSE of ~8%–20%.
  • CIGS outperformed c-Si in high-irradiance and high-temperature conditions.
  • Voltage losses in low-light conditions were significant for CIGS technology.

Takeaway

This study looks at how well CIGS solar panels work compared to traditional silicon panels, especially in different weather conditions.

Methodology

The study used a newly developed energy yield model to analyze CIGS performance in various environmental scenarios, including low-light and high-temperature conditions.

Limitations

The model's accuracy decreases under low-capacity-factor conditions, particularly in cloudy weather.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1038/s41598-024-78862-w

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