Title :
Dish/photovoltaic cavity converter (PVCC) system for ultimate solar-to-electricty conversion efficiency-general concept and first performance predictions
Author :
Ortabasi, Ugur ; Lewandowski, Allan ; McConnell, Robert ; Aiken, Daniel J. ; Sharps, Paul L. ; Bovard, Bertrand G.
Author_Institution :
United Innovations Inc., San Marcos, CA, USA
Abstract :
In this paper, United Innovations, Inc. (UI2) presents the results of extensive analytical studies involving a radically new concentrator system based on the photovoltaic cavity converter (PVCC) concept under development. The objective of this project is to achieve an unprecedented solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 50% (half the sun) that will substantially reduce the cost of solar electricity. This R&D effort is supported by DOE/NREL with the purpose of demonstrating a 1.5 kW unit in the near term. The system considered is a dish/PVCC combination consisting of a primary concentrator, a secondary flux booster and a PVCC. Trapped flux inside the cavity undergoes spectral splitting via selective reflection/transmission by special Rugate filters. A four bandgap array inside the cavity consisting of four complementing III-V single-junction cell types achieves a collective conversion efficiency of 48.32% at 100 suns.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; light reflection; light transmission; optical filters; solar cell arrays; solar energy concentrators; 1.5 kW; 48.32 percent; 50 percent; III-V single-junction cell; NREL; Rugate filters; US DOE; United Innovations; concentrator; dish/photovoltaic cavity converter; four bandgap array; secondary flux booster; selective reflection/transmission; solar electricity cost reduction; solar-to-electricty conversion efficiency; spectral splitting; Costs; Energy conversion; Filters; Photovoltaic systems; Reflection; Research and development; Solar power generation; Sun; Technological innovation; US Department of Energy;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2002. Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7471-1
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2002.1190925