Recent developments on the flat-plate micro-concentrator module

Author

Terao, Akira ; Pujol, Oscar Chao ; Daroczi, S.G. ; Kaminar, Neil R. ; Smith, David D. ; Swanson, Richard M. ; Benitez, Pablo ; Alvarez, Jose Luis ; Minano, Juan Carlos

Author_Institution

SunPower Corp., Sunnyvale, CA, USA

fYear

2002

fDate

19-24 May 2002

Firstpage

1373

Lastpage

1376

Abstract

We develop a novel 300-Sun concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) module. A non-imaging optical design based on a compact total internal reflection (TIR) lens enables a very low profile module, similar to a flat-plate module. This paper presents some recent advances in the development of this module. These advances concern the two main components of the system, the optics and the cell, as well as their integration inside a complete module. The manufacturing cost of the entire system is estimated and compared to conventional Fresnel lens-type systems. This comparison accounts for actual cell temperatures under operating conditions, evaluated through thermal experiments.

Keywords

lenses; solar cell arrays; solar energy concentrators; 300-Sun concentrating photovoltaic module; TIR lens; flat-plate photovoltaic cells; microconcentrator module; nonimaging optical lens; optical concentration; optical efficiency; silicon solar cells; total internal reflection lens; Costs; Integrated optics; Lenses; Manufacturing; Optical design; Optical devices; Optical reflection; Photovoltaic systems; Solar power generation; Temperature;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2002. Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE

ISSN

1060-8371

Print_ISBN

0-7803-7471-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.2002.1190864

Filename

1190864