The aim of the project is to carry out a performance assessment of different solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies in the climatic context of Mauritius. Currently, only two PV technologies are proposed by local PV system installers, namely the crystalline silicon (c-Si) and Copper Indium diselenide (CIS) thin film PV modules, but no performance comparison has been carried out so far to conclude about the best technology suited to the climate of Mauritius in general and to the specific location where the system will be installed. The targeted objectives of the proposed research were to investigate the effect of climatic and environmental parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, soiling, UV level, spectral-, global and diffuse irradiance on power output of three widely used PV technologies (mono-Si, poly-Si and CIS). In order to achieve the objectives, a state of the art outdoor test facility has been developed that can perform simultaneous measurement of electrical, climatic and environmental parameters. An in-depth analysis of high resolution measurement data has been performed. A report based on the results has been produced, which can be readily used by stakeholders of the PV industry as well as decision makers to support their decision on choice of technology, design and appraisal of PV projects.
