Greentech Lead America: Amonix, a designer and manufacturer of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems, has achieved a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) efficiency rating of 35.9 percent under recently adopted CPV IEC test conditions of 1000 W/m2 and 25°C cell temperature.
Data for the rating was generated by an Amonix module under outdoor test at NREL from late February to April of this year.
The result is the highest ever independently rated module efficiency for any PV technology and is the first time NREL quantified the rating for a concentrator module with the cells at 25°C instead of at operating temperature.
Amonix worked with NREL to help mature this measurement process. The company has set a module efficiency record of 34.9 percent at CSOC (concentrator standard operating conditions) in April, 2013 and is also the first to break 33 percent CSOC module efficiency in May 2012.
“This 35.9 percent IEC CSTC module efficiency is a direct comparison to PV module efficiencies, which are often reported at IEC standard test conditions,” said Vahan Garboushian, Amonix founder and CTO.
“With the advent of higher efficiency cells from companies like Solar Junction, Amonix anticipates achieving considerably higher module efficiencies and breaking our currently standing world records in the very near future,” Garboushian added.