A summary of recent photovoltaic concentrator technology developments

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6753790

Boes, E C

Development and application of photovoltaic power technologies is rapidly expanding, and there are clear indications that this will continue. This paper discusses the status and potential of the different photovoltaic collector technologies in this changing environment. The primary focus of the paper is on photovoltaic concentrators. The past year has seen a significant increase in research and development of photovoltaic concentrator technology. In all, more than 10 development teams are known to be pursuing PV concentrator technology in the US. Over half of these development efforts have not been reported to date. This paper will summarize these development efforts. It will describe and compare the different designs being developed. It will also discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of the different designs, both in terms of performance and cost. The developmental status of these projects will also be described, including a summary of available performance information on components and modules. This paper will also described current development efforts on PV concentrator components, including concentrator cells. Fresnel lenses and secondaries, and cell assemblies. With this information, projections for the designs and performance of next generation PV concentrator technology will be presented. 15 refs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6753790
• Report Number(s): SAND-88-0577C; CONF-880965-18; ON: DE89001367
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140501* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Photovoltaic Conversion
141000 -- Solar Collectors & Concentrators
CONVERSION
COST
DESIGN
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
EFFICIENCY
ELEMENTS
ENERGY CONVERSION
EQUIPMENT
FILMS
FRESNEL LENS
LENSES
MARKET
PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERSION
SEMIMETALS
SILICON
SOLAR CONCENTRATORS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SPECIFICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION
THIN FILMS