Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

A comparison of concentrating collectors to tracking flat panels

Conference · · Conf. Rec. IEEE Photovoltaic Spec. Conf.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5121724
Two-axis tracking appears to be the economic optimum for photovoltaic flat-panel technology. This requires a new comparison of flatpanel and concentrator arrays using the most competitive flat-panel option. The array field costs for a two-axis tracking flat-panel should be nearly identical to the costs for a concentrator. Therefore, module costs for the two technologies can be compared directly, simplifying the analysis. For example, at southwestern sites, characterized by a high direct-to-diffuse insolation ratio, 12% flat-panels are found to be equivalent to 15% concentrators of the same cost ($/M/sup 2/). For regions with more diffuse radiation the concentrator must be over 18% efficient to be equivalent.
Research Organization:
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
OSTI ID:
5121724
Report Number(s):
CONF-840561-
Conference Information:
Journal Name: Conf. Rec. IEEE Photovoltaic Spec. Conf.; (United States)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English