Outdoor Performance Data for GaAs-Si Tandem Solar Mini-Module

Outdoor measurement data from Golden, Colorado, USA, for a four-terminal gallium arsenide/silicon tandem solar mini-module deployed from October 2019 to January 2021. The dataset includes current-voltage characteristics, spectral irradiance, meteorological data, and pre-deployment lab characterization. It was produced by the Department of Energy to support a published performance modeling and degradation analysis framework.

Use Cases

• Model degradation rates for GaAs and Si sub-cells using extracted performance parameters from the J-V characteristics time series.
• Validate PVcircuit equivalent-circuit simulation outputs against measured outdoor performance data.
• Analyze the impact of meteorological conditions and spectral irradiance on module performance using co-located weather station and spectroradiometer data.
• Apply temperature and precipitable water vapor correction coefficients derived from the outdoor data to other performance models.
• Calculate spectral mismatch ratios and average photon energy from the spectroradiometer data to assess spectral effects on tandem cell efficiency.

Strengths

• Data spans a 15-month outdoor deployment period from October 2019 to January 2021.
• Includes multiple synchronized data streams: J-V characteristics (~5-min resolution), spectral irradiance, and 1-minute meteorological data.
• Provides specific, published degradation rates of -4.1 ± 0.2 %/year (GaAs) and -2.5 ± 0.9 %/year (Si).

Limitations

• Data is from a single mini-module at one test site (Golden, Colorado), limiting geographic and device-to-device variability.
• Sample size is one module; results may not be representative of larger-scale production or other climates.
• The temporal coverage ends in January 2021, which may not reflect more recent performance or degradation trends.

Provenance

Source

Department of Energy, data collected at the Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL).

Collection Method

Outdoor measurements from a co-located test station, including a spectroradiometer and weather station, with pre-deployment laboratory characterization.

Time Range

October 2019 to January 2021

Freshness

Dataset metadata was last updated in April 2026, though the measurement period ended in January 2021.

Geography

Golden, Colorado, USA