Distributed Industrial Scale Hybrid Solar Concentrator Photovoltaics and Thermal Energy

Abstract

While solar photovoltaic (PV) panels have been used successfully to produce electricity for quite some time, it has been technically difficult to capture their heat because of the large area of a flat-plate photovoltaic panel. Likewise it has been difficult to manufacture solar concentrator systems that are of the same physical scale, about one square meter, as successful commercial flat-plate photovoltaic panels and incorporate them into a commercializable and easily manufactured solar energy system. This paper addresses the two problems by considering the feasibility of a single design of a one square meter plastic nonimaging solar concentrator that focuses sunlight on a heat-capturing, dense array of high-intensity photovoltaic chips. The individual one square meter modules are designed to be mounted on a 2-axis tracking system which could have a double polar-axis support for energy and cost efficiency. When coupled with an existing electronic control, these three components create a commercial-scale solar electricity device that also provides heat in quantities suitable for heating or cooling. Preliminary contacts with electric utilities and commercial/industrial businesses have found interest in procurement of the proposed technology for widespread harvesting and use of solar energy in the US and abroad.