Field Experience Of Concentrix Solar's CPV Systems In Different Climatic Conditions

Gombert, Andreas; Heile, I.; Gomez, M. T.; Gerstmaier, T.; Röttger, M.; Wüllner, J.; Dimroth, Frank; Kurtz, Sarah; Sala, Gabriel; Bett, Andreas W.

doi:10.1063/1.3658354

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The V oc depends both on the cell temperature and on the power density received by the solar cell. We used the temperature dependence coefficient from the EMCORE datasheet (Table I) and the logarithm law measured on the flash tester for the power density dependence (1). The temperature dependence of the current density was also taken into account from the EMCORE datasheet (Table I) [12].…”

Section: Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the 1990s, concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems using Fresnel lenses have been considered as an attractive technique for the reduction of the photovoltaic electricity production cost. Recently, significant advances have been performed on ×300 up to ×600 modules . The use of secondary optical element (SOE) was largely studied because it enables to improve the alignment and assembly requirements, minimizing this way the energy cost production (€/kWh).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Electro‐optical study of a ×1024 concentrator photovoltaic system

Pereira

Dargent

Lorin

et al. 2012

Progress in Photovoltaics

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Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems are one of the most promising technologies for future energy supply. Several studies reported the interest of using a Fresnel lens coupled with a secondary optical element in such a system. For high concentration factor, the optimization of the optical configuration plays a key role regarding electrical performances. On the other hand, the thermal management of the solar cell is also critical to ensure a better module efficiency. This paper presents a study of a Â1024 CPV system performances and a methodology for estimating the optical chain efficiency, the cell temperature impact and the alignment requirements. Module efficiencies were then measured as a function of the cell temperature and correlated to optical performances through current-tension characterizations under real solar illumination conditions and the estimation of the power density received by the solar cell. The system yield was up to 27% for a cell temperature around 30 C, confirming that high concentration ratio should be of great interest in the near future. A 1D model was also developed in order to quantify the possible improvements of this CPV system. Using a solar cell with an efficiency of 36.7% at Â600, we then demonstrated that the Â1024 CPV system could reach up to 30% in standard test conditions.

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Section: Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electro‐optical study of a ×1024 concentrator photovoltaic system

Pereira

Dargent

Lorin

et al. 2012

Progress in Photovoltaics

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show abstract

“…Soitec´s CPV technology is currently installed on 20 locations in four continents with totally different climatic conditions. This gave very good insight in the system performance under different climatic conditions [3]. The module and system technology has shown to be suitable for all conditions.…”

Section: Figure 7 Ip Tests and Vibration Tests On Modulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of manufacturing processes and their control for the reliability of CPV systems

Gombert¹,

Rubio²

2013

AIP Conference Proceedings

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A simplified finite element model for uncoupled thermal analysis in CPV heat sink design to reduce time-tomarket AIP Conference Proceedings 1556, 274 (2013) Reliability and durability of CPV power plant components are very much impacting the overall life cycle costs of a CPV power plant. Especially the CPV module is a critical component when considering system life time and overall economics. Soitec's CPV Modules based on Concentrix™ technology are designed for outstanding robustness and reliability even under harsh environmental conditions. The reliability of a CPV module depends significantly on the manufacturing processes and their control. Therefore it is important to design CPV modules for manufacturability.

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“…In practical systems one should increase the acceptance angle and hence reduce the concentration ratio for a number of reasons: shape, contour errors and roughness of the optical surfaces (Annen et al, 2007), temperature effects in optics (Rumyantsev et al, 2010;Schult et al, 2009;Gombert et al, 2011;van Riesen et al, 2011), concentrator module assembly and receiver alignment (Antón et al, 2005), array installation, tracker structure finite stiffness (Luque-Heredia et al, 2006), suntracking accuracy (Davis et al, 2008;Stafford et al, 2009), solar angular size (Rabl et al, 1982) and circumsolar radiation (Neumann et al, 2002). Most optical designs include both primary and secondary optics to increase the acceptance angle (Ning et al, 1987;James, 1989;Benítez et al, 2010;Jaus et al 2011), although some companies have chosen to avoid the cost of an optical secondary by carefully maintaining alignment quality and sacrificing a small percentage in performance under some circumstances .…”

Section: Outline Of the Thesis Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Development of procedures and equipment for indoor characterization of concentrator photovoltaic systems

Herrero¹

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The high concentrator photovoltaic (HCPV) modules, as their name suggests, concentrate the sun light by means of affordable optics onto high efficiency and costly multi-junction (MJ) solar cells (hence reducing the needed semiconductor area). To drive down costs and to increase the commercial opportunities of this technology, the approach commonly taken is to improve the system efficiency. Currently, the record efficiency for CPV modules is in the order of 35%-36% which almost double the numbers given for flat panels. To reach these numbers in production line or even to exceed them, proper characterization procedures specific for the CPV technology are needed. However, there is a distinct lack of methods and testing instrumentation as neither international standards nor commercialized equipment are available.

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Field Experience Of Concentrix Solar's CPV Systems In Different Climatic Conditions

Cited by 6 publications

References 2 publications

Electro‐optical study of a ×1024 concentrator photovoltaic system

Electro‐optical study of a ×1024 concentrator photovoltaic system

The importance of manufacturing processes and their control for the reliability of CPV systems

Development of procedures and equipment for indoor characterization of concentrator photovoltaic systems

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