Improved Cost, Reliability, and Grid Integration of High Concentration Photovoltaic Systems
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Challenges in the Design of Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) Modules to Achieve Highest Efficiencies M
APPLIED PHYSICS REVIEWS 5, 041601 (2018) Challenges in the design of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules to achieve highest efficiencies M. Wiesenfarth,1,a) I. Anton,2 and A. W. Bett1 1Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, ISE, Heidenhofstraße 2, 79110 Freiburg, Germany 2Instituto de Energıa Solar (IES), Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM), Av. Complutense, 30, 28040 Madrid, Spain (Received 1 July 2018; accepted 22 October 2018; published online 15 November 2018) Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) is a special high efficiency system technology in the world of PV-technologies. The idea of CPV is to use optical light concentrators to increase the incident power on solar cells. The solar cell area is comparatively tiny, thus saving expensive semiconduc- tor materials and allowing the use of more sophisticated and more costly multi-junction solar cells. The highest CPV module efficiency achieved is 38.9%. This CPV module uses four-junction III-V- based solar cells. Moreover, mini-modules have already achieved an efficiency of 43.4%. The interaction between optics, cells, and layout of the module and tracker determines the overall field performance. Today, some utility scale CPV plants are installed. The CPV technology allows for many technical solutions for system designs and for optimizing performance while maintaining the economics. This paper will review the achievements and discuss the challenges for the CPV mod- ule technology and its components. We discuss the different components and the most important effects regarding the module design. Furthermore, we present the module designs that have shown the highest efficiencies. Published by AIP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5046752 TABLE OF CONTENTS F. -
Solar Energy Technologies Program Multi-Year Program Plan: 2008-2012
Multi Year Program Plan 2008-2012 April 15, 2008 Solar Energy Technologies Program – 2008-2012 MYPP 1 A Letter from the Program Manager April 2008 Washington, D.C. Welcome to the 2008-2012 Multi-Year Program Plan for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Program (Solar Program). The Solar Program is responsible for carrying out the Federal role in researching, developing, demonstrating and deploying solar energy technologies. This document presents a look inside the Solar Program’s plans for the next five years, as well as the areas of work that we intend to emphasize. The Solar Program is driven by the Solar America Initiative (SAI), a Presidential initiative launched in 2007 with the goal of achieving grid-parity for solar electricity produced by photovoltaic (PV) systems across the nation by 2015 - making the SAI a nine-year effort. This plan covers years two through six of the SAI, which can be considered the core of the initiative. The activities covered within this plan highlight what efforts the Solar Program will undertake to reach the SAI goal. We will not, however, reach the SAI goal alone. During the first year of the SAI, the Solar Program was able to lay the initial foundation for success through aggressive research and development (R&D) efforts in collaboration with private industry and national laboratories, and expanded that effort to universities in early 2008. Simultaneously, the program launched a groundbreaking market transformation effort to help commercialize solar technologies by targeting and eliminating market barriers to solar energy, as well as promoting deployment opportunities, through partnerships with cities, companies, non-profits, and universities. -
Cpv) Technology
FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS ISE NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY NREL CURRENT STATUS OF CONCENTRATOR PHOTOVOLTAIC (CPV) TECHNOLOGY NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government and by the Fraunhofer Institute of Solar Energy Systems ISE, Germany. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor the Fraunhofer ISE, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof or the Fraunhofer ISE. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof or the Fraunhofer ISE. This report is available at no cost from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE at www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/renewable-energy-data and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications. Fraunhofer ISE and NREL print on paper that contains recycled content. Available electronically at SciTech Connect http:/www.osti.gov/scitech Available for a processing fee to U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. -
High-Efficiency Multi-Junction Solar Cells: Current Status and Future Potential
High-efficiency multi-junction solar cells: Current status and future potential Natalya V. Yastrebova, Centre for Research in Photonics, University of Ottawa, April 2007 Table of contents Introduction................................................................................................................................. 2 Basic principles of multi-junction solar cells.............................................................................. 6 Bandgaps .................................................................................................................................. 6 Lattice constants ....................................................................................................................... 8 Current matching ..................................................................................................................... 9 Fabrication of present-day multi-junction solar cells................................................................ 9 Future design improvements .................................................................................................... 12 Design optimization of the existing layers .............................................................................. 12 Increasing the number of junctions ....................................................................................... 12 Inclusion of semiconductor quantum dots ............................................................................. 13 Concentrator photovoltaics .....................................................................................................