Concentrated Photovoltaics
Biancamaria Maniscalco, Loughborough University
Introduction
Concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems have the potential to meet the lowest cost for power generation. Sunlight is focused using inexpensive optics such as a Fresnel lens on to a small cell to produce high photocurrents. In low to medium concentration (50 to 200 suns), these cells are usually silicon. Laser-grooved buried contact (LGBC) technology is attractive for low-cost concentrators since the front contact can handle the high current densities produced.
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Eelco Bergman, VP of Business Development; Cyrium Technologies Inc.
Over the past several years, the PV industry has experienced record growth due to a combination of government incentives promoting investment in solar projects and aggressive cost reduction by manufacturers leveraging the increased production volumes. Unfortunately, as a result of the current macroeconomic climate, many of these investment incentives have ended or are on a schedule to do so. In addition, fierce price competition, resulting from an overcapacity situation in specifically the C-Si flat plate market, has driven cost expectations below sustainable levels for many manufacturers. Nevertheless, the demand for solar energy continues to be strong and particularly the interest in large, utility-scale projects is on the rise.
Senthil Ramadas, Tera-Barrier Films
Tera-Barrier Films’ (TBF) patented high-barrier film has the highest reported water vapor barrier performance to date, which will be a boon to plastic electronics whose sensitive functional materials are easily degraded by water vapor and oxygen, which include thin film solar cells, like CIGS, dye-sensitized solar cells and organic solar cells. These devices require ultra-high-barrier film coated plastic substrates with low water vapor transmission properties of <10-6g/m2 per day at 25°C and 90 percent relative humidity (RH). However, one of the major stumbling blocks for large-scale introduction of flexible solar cells is the lack of availability of commercial (large-volume) high-performance barrier films and encapsulation technologies at low cost. TBF/IMRE barrier films have demonstrated all the technical requirements with external validation reports with respect to barrier performance, flexibility, transparency with a technology roadmap that can deliver cost-effective solutions in line with flexible photovoltaics, displays and lighting application expectations.
Hansjörg Lerchenmüller, Concentrix Solar, now a division of Soitec
CPV technology is currently gaining momentum, with many recent large utility-scale solar plants announcements – especially due to the promising cost-saving potential of this technology achieved by the high efficiencies, currently in the 25 percent range. Soitec Concentrix is currently working on new generations of solar cells leading to a system efficiency of more than 35 percent to create a strong further boost of the CPV system performance.
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Brad Hines, Vice President of Engineering, Idealab
The idea of concentrating sunlight onto small solar cells, reducing expensive semiconductor material in order to reduce cost, is at least 40 years old. Nonetheless, the shifting and evolving technology landscape around concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems means that innovation continues today, and that, in fact, the dawn of economically viable CPV systems has come.
Brad Hines, Vice President of Engineering, Idealab
After years of fits and starts, the concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) industry is abuzz with excitement, with the recent announcement by Amonix of its $129 million Series B and Solaria’s $45 million funding.
Bruno Riel, Cyrium Technologies
Abstract
The solar cells that were developed for the space industry have found their way into the terrestrial photovoltaic market. Cyrium Technologies has combined these cells with a novel technology, quantum dots, to optimize their performance for terrestrial generation of power. These quantum dot-enhanced cells (QDEC) have been introduced at the focal point of concentrator photovoltaic systems, an industry that is poised to revolutionize clean tech.
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