Abstract:
Compact hybrid photovoltaic-concentrating solar thermal (PV-CST) systems have emerged as a promising strategy to enhance solar energy utilization by simultaneously delivering electricity and heat. Despite their potential, their assessment remains challenging due to the lack of consistent metrics capable of capturing the relative value of these distinct energy outputs. To address this gap, we introduce a unified benchmarking framework for hybrid PV-CST systems that explicitly accounts for the relative value of heat to electricity. Within this framework, we introduce the Effective Improvement Range (EIR), a novel metric that quantifies the resilience and competitiveness of hybrid configurations under varying heat-to-electricity value ratios. We apply this framework to three spectral-splitting hybrid architectures, named semitransparent-thermal, semitransparent-photovoltaic, and PV-mirror, each evaluated considering four photovoltaic materials (Ge, Si, GaAs, and GaP). The benefit of hybridization is assessed by benchmarking each configuration against its standalone photovoltaic and thermal counterparts, as well as against state-of-the-art reference technologies. Our analysis reveals that each hybrid architecture exhibits a well-defined optimal heat-to-electricity value ratio. Among the designs considered, GaAs-based PV-mirror systems emerge as the most robust and competitive across a broad range of conditions, offering up to 43% performance improvement over market standards. In contrast, semitransparent thermal and photovoltaic architectures yield only marginal benefits, limited to specific operating regimes and locations. These findings highlight that hybrid PV–CST systems evaluated offer modest gains over established technologies, emphasizing the need for rigorous and unified benchmarking frameworks to accurately identify and guide the development of truly competitive hybrid solar systems.
Miguel Sainz-Mañas, Gilles Flamant, Cyril Caliot, Françoise Bataille, Alexis Vossier, The benefits of concentrating solar hybrid systems: A unified benchmarking framework, Applied Energy, Volume 427, Part F, 2027, 129093, ISSN 0306-2619, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2026.129093
Latest In:
Solar fuels are made using thermochemistry driven by direct heat from the sun In this process, solar thermal energy provides the heat for thermochemical reactions to produce new compounds such as green hydrogen or sustainable aviation fuel. Highly concentrated solar…
Here’s what dispatchable solar looks like. This gigantic solar thermal energy storage tank holds enough stored sunlight to generate 1,100 MWh/day from stored solar power. The cheapest way to store solar energy over many hours, such as the five to seven hour evening…
About SolarPACES
Tasks
Copyright © 2026 SolarPACES. All Rights Reserved.

source