ICEPT staff and PhD students publish widely in a range of academic journals,  policy reports and technical papers. 

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BibTex format

@article{Bamisile:2026:10.1016/j.rser.2026.117304,
author = {Bamisile, O and Acen, C and Johnson, N and Bamisile, O and Cai, D and Huang, Q and Staffell, I},
doi = {10.1016/j.rser.2026.117304},
journal = {Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews},
title = {The technical factors affecting solar photovoltaic system performance},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2026.117304},
volume = {241},
year = {2026}
}
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TY  - JOUR
AB  - Solar photovoltaics (PV) are being deployed at terawatt scale, producing ∼7% of global electricity. Even small productivity gains translate into large national impacts. The factors that define performance range across device physics, system engineering and site-specific practice. This review addresses the fragmentation of data across individual aspects and case studies. We compile quantitative evidence on the principal factors affecting solar PV energy yield across cell, module and system levels. We focus on monocrystalline silicon (97% of modules sold), also considering thin-film, III–V, emerging organic and perovskite technologies, and alternative deployment concepts (building-integrated, agrivoltaic, floating PV and space-based solar power). In under a decade, commercial mono-c-Si module efficiency has improved by one-quarter, and the temperature coefficient for power has fallen by one-third to ∼0.30%/K. Large datasets report degradation rates of ∼0.5–0.75%/yr, with strong climate dependence. System orientation and sizing strongly affect productivity. We show that optimal module tilt follows a simple power law, that annual yield increases by 4–11% with seasonal tilt adjustment, 15–25% with one-axis, and 23–35% with two-axis tracking. Utility-scale systems oversize DC capacity, with mean inverter sizing ratio of 1.35, yet clipping losses are low as they rise log-linearly with this ratio. Bifacial modules account for around two-thirds of new capacity and increase capacity factors by 6–23%, depending largely on surface albedo. Agrivoltaics and floating PV offer co-benefits but wide ranges in energy productivity. Across modelling approaches, uncertainty often arises from differing system design assumptions and limited long-term field validation.
AU  - Bamisile,O
AU  - Acen,C
AU  - Johnson,N
AU  - Bamisile,O
AU  - Cai,D
AU  - Huang,Q
AU  - Staffell,I
DO  - 10.1016/j.rser.2026.117304
PY  - 2026///
SN  - 1364-0321
TI  - The technical factors affecting solar photovoltaic system performance
T2  - Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2026.117304
VL  - 241
ER  -
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