Potential of photovoltaic systems in countries with high solar irradiation George Makrides a, *, Bastian Zinsser b , Matthew Norton a , George E. Georghiou a , Markus Schubert b , Ju¨ rgen H. Werner b a Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Cyprus, 75 Kallipoleos Avenue, P.O. Box 20537, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus b Institut fu¨r Physikalische Elektronik (ipe), Universita¨t Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 47, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany Contents 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 754 2. Photovoltaic technologies .......................................................................................... 755 2.1. Crystalline technologies ...................................................................................... 755 2.2. Thin film technologies ....................................................................................... 756 2.3. III-V single and multi-junction technologies ...................................................................... 756 2.4. Concentrator technologies .................................................................................... 756 2.5. Building integrated PV (BIPV) technologies ....................................................................... 757 2.6. Emerging and new PV technologies ............................................................................. 757 3. Performance evaluation of different PV technologies under the same climatic conditions ....................................... 757 3.1. Measurement system description .............................................................................. 758 4. Results ......................................................................................................... 759 4.1. Solar resource .............................................................................................. 759 4.2. Solar energy production in Cyprus.............................................................................. 759 4.3. Comparison of performance with Germany....................................................................... 760 5. PV potential in Cyprus ............................................................................................. 761 6. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 761 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... 762 References ...................................................................................................... 762 1. Introduction The PV technology sector is a fast growing industry which has shown a worldwide increase with European installed capacity reaching 4689 MW p in 2007 [1] (Photon data of April 2009: 4279 MW p in 2007 and 7910 MW p in 2008 [2]) and proving in this way its ability for future development. In its recent prediction (September 2008) the European PV Industry Association (EPIA) estimates that PV could provide 12% of the European electricity consumption by 2020, highlighting its potential [3]. Amongst the European countries, Germany has been and continues to be the European PV market leader with the highest installed capacity. The Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 754–762 ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 12 May 2009 Accepted 13 July 2009 Keywords: Photovoltaics Mono-crystalline silicon Multi-crystalline silicon Concentrator Thin film photovoltaic potential ABSTRACT Renewable energy sources derived principally from solar energy have been gaining ground over the last few years and are now beginning to contribute to the global energy mix. Solar energy in the form of direct electricity conversion (photovoltaics) is already very popular in countries such as the United States, Germany and Japan. The enormous potential of photovoltaic (PV) technology is also obvious and favourable in countries with high irradiation such as the Mediterranean region. The objective of this paper is to review the different up and coming PV technologies, to explore the potential of different PV systems in countries with high solar irradiation and to compare their performance through the assessment of thirteen different types of PV systems that have been installed side by side in Nicosia, Cyprus and Stuttgart, Germany. Finally useful insight into the performance of the PV systems as a function of the meteorological conditions and location will be highlighted. ß 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +357 99 217411; fax: +357 22 892531. E-mail address: eep5mg1@ucy.ac.cy (G. Makrides). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser 1364-0321/$ – see front matter ß 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2009.07.021