Design and Construction of a similar to 7x Low-Concentration Photovoltaic System Based on Compound Parabolic Concentrators

作者：Schuetz Mark A^*; Shell Kara A; Brown Scott A; Reinbolt Gregory S; French Roger H; Davis Robert J

来源：IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, 2012, 2(3): 382-386.

DOI：10.1109/JPHOTOV.2012.2186283

• Compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs)
• concentrated photovoltaic (CPV)
• low-concentration photovoltaics (LCPV)

We report on the design, construction, and initial performance measurements of a low-concentration photovoltaic system based on compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs). The system is approximately a 7 x concentration system and uses commercially available laser groove buried contact monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic cells. The CPCs are fabricated using a second-surface aluminized acrylic mirror with proven weather durability. The asymmetric CPC optical design was driven by a balance between concentration factor, thermal issues, and optical angle of acceptance and was thoroughly evaluated by optical ray tracing. The design was targeted for a single-axis tracking system, with extruded aluminum heat sinks doubling as structural components. We fabricated a 120-cell (10 x 12) prototype array, and over three months of operation, we estimated an approximate peak total system power efficiency of 7.9%, limited mostly by the CPC optical efficiency (similar to 55%) and the cell conversion efficiency. We discuss several issues regarding system performance, reliability, and cost.

• 出版日期2012-7