Development of a building block design of modular photovoltaic concentrator array fields

Technical Report · Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1983

OSTI ID:5695658

Carmichael, D C; Alexander, G; Noel, G T; Scurlock, L D; Huss, W R; Stickford, G H

To reduce the balance-of-system (BOS) costs and site-specific design costs for photovoltaic concentrator array fields, a modular Building Block design has been developed for installing array fields of each of two available concentrator collectors. The array-field subsystems and requirements incorporated in the design analyses include site preparation, foundations, electrical wiring, grounding, lightning protection, electromagnetic interference provisions, and tracking and controls. The Building Block designs developed minimize these array-field BOS costs and serve as standardized units to be used in multiples to construct array fields of various sizes. The detailed drawings and construction specifications prepared for the designs require only minimal design modification and cost for adaption to a specific site and application. The two concentrator collectors for which the modular array-field designs were developed are the linear-focus Fresnel-lens array manufactured by E-Systems, Inc., and the point-focus Fresnel-lens array manufactured by Martin Marietta Aerospace Corporation. Both designs are two-axis tracking and passively cooled. The developed Building Block designs are immediately applicable and reduce the array-field BOS costs and site-specific design costs to a fraction of those experienced in previous installations. The estimated array-field BOS costs (in 1982 dollars) using these modular designs are $0.78/W for the modular field based on the E-Systems array and $1.18/W for the modular field based on the Martin-Marietta array.

• Research Organization: Battelle Columbus Labs., OH (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 5695658
• Report Number(s): SAND-82-7069; ON: DE84003917
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
SOLAR CELL ARRAYS
CONCENTRATOR SOLAR CELLS
DESIGN
CONTROL SYSTEMS
COST ESTIMATION
EFFICIENCY
FRESNEL LENS
LIFE-CYCLE COST
MODULAR STRUCTURES
SOLAR TRACKING
COST
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
EQUIPMENT
LENSES
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
140501* - Solar Energy Conversion- Photovoltaic Conversion
140600 - Solar Energy- Photovoltaic Power Systems