Effect of grid and optimization on improving the electrical performance of compound parabolic concentrator photovoltaic cells.

• Three CPC-PV cell modules have been established. • Effect of bus-bar location on electrical performance of CPC-PV cells is indicated. • Effect of bus-bar number on the electrical performance of CPC-PV cells is indicated. • The optimal bus-bar location and number for CPC-PV cells are determined. • The electrical efficiency of the optimized CPC-PV is increased from 11.95% to 13.71%. The compound parabolic concentrator photovoltaic (CPC-PV) cell module is composed of two symmetrical mirrors and a crystalline silicon solar cell. In this study, two new CPC-PV cells based on known CPC-PV cell are established by changing the location and number of bus-bar in crystalline silicon solar cell. The effect of different location and number of bus-bar on the electrical performance of CPC-PV cells was investigated. The numerical simulation of three CPC-PV cells is performed using a two-dimensional finite element model. The electrical performance of three CPC-PV cells are compared, and surface voltage distribution, current density and internal current flow of the crystalline silicon solar cell for each CPC-PV cell are analyzed. The results show that compared with the known CPC-PV cell with bus-bar placed on the right side of the crystalline silicon solar cell, the electrical efficiency of the CPC-PV cell when the bus-bar is placed in middle region of the crystalline silicon solar cell is relatively improved by 14.76%. Finally, it is concluded that the bus-bar optimization based on the non-uniform illumination intensity distribution formed by the concentrator will help to improve the electrical performance of the CPC-PV cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]