Design and characterization of innovative asymmetrical optics for high performance CPV/PV hybrid modules

Le résumé fourni par la source

Concentrating photovoltaic technology (CPV) offers higher efficiency than flat photovoltaic technology (PV), but one of the obstacles to its commercial diffusion arises from the complexity and bulkiness of the optical systems (with primary and secondary optics), which require precise and expensive alignments. New hybrid CPV/PV modules, that use innovative solar tracking strategies, allow using new optics solutions to overcome the limitations related to the sun incidence angles on the module, thus simplifying the optical design. In this contribution, a new solar concentrator for innovative hybrid CPV/PV modules using aspherical and non-radial symmetric lens is simulated and experimentally tested. These optics exploit the asymmetry in the kinematics of the tracking system along the two orthogonal tracking axes, allowing to get light transmittance higher than 80%, within the 300 to 1800nm spectral range, despite the inevitable infrared absorption bands and the absence of AR coating. The solar concentrator only consists of a single thin primary lens in PMMA, with a geometric concentration factor of 400X. The lens shape was designed and optimized for multiple incidence angles, to maximize performance at various operating conditions with acceptance angle ranges of ±17° and ±5°, in the two orthogonal directions. The optical system, mounted on a test bench, was characterized indoor with a quasi-collimated Xenon lamp, and the results were in good agreement with the simulations. The new optics represents a promising solution for the development of next-generation PV modules, characterized by high energy yields, low costs and reduced environmental impact.

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