CPV: Not just for hot deserts!

Mention CPV or concentrated photovoltaics and the mind automatically conjures up images of fields of panels in hot desert regions like the US southwest with intense direct sunlight and humans survive with air-conditioned enclosures. We assume that CPV does not work in other areas. Charts, like the one below which was republished in greentechmedia.com, show CPV having a niche market of large installations in areas with high annual solar radiation. The reality of this business is that we sell electricity and the end customer´s primary concern is the cost of the electricity delivered. If CPV is able to deliver electricity at the lowest cost, it will have a larger market share. The above projections indicate CPV at ~2% of the solar electricity market share compared to nearly 94% for traditional panel PV (silicon, thin film...). In this paper, we explore what it is needed to take CPV out of its currently relegated niche.