Instituto de energía solar

Another cornerstone of the research line on concentrator photovoltaics revolves around designing or optimizing robust, low-cost, high-performance CPV systems for the international industry, some of which have been taken to the demonstration plant level.

Furthermore, a considerable number of CPV plants with MW capacities have been commissioned in the recent years, allowing for some feedback on actual performance, risks and reliability of this technology. This research line establishes good practices in independent technical assessment of CPV systems and plants including realistic energy yield predictions in order to provide high technical confidence and reduce investor uncertainty.

As a result of the collaboration with most important manufacturers in the last decades, we have expertise in:

• Optical design of primary and secondary optics, simulation and consultancy on manufacturing aspects.
  
  
• In-depth assessment of High and Low CPV system and determination of performance bottle necks.
  
  
• Holistic module design for enhanced electrical and thermal performance.
  
  
• Modelling of CPV systems for accurate energy predictions.

Contact person: Prof. Ignacio Antón

1. M. Victoria et Al. “Comparative analysis of different secondary optical elements for aspheric primary lenses”, Optics Express. 17:8 (2009), pp. 6487 – 6492. DOI: 10.1364/OE.17.006487
   
   
2. M. Castro et Al. "Detailed effects of wind on the field performance of a 50 kW CPV demonstration plant", AIP Conf. Proc. 1556 (2013), p.256-260. DOI: 10.1063/1.4822244
   
   
3. S. Askins et al. "Optimizing CPV systems for thermal and spectral tolerance", Proc. 27th EU PVSEC (2012), p. 194-198.
   
   
4. M. Vivar et al. "Effect of soiling in CPV systems", Solar Energy 84:7 (2010), p.1327-1335. DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2010.03.031
   
   
5. I. Anton and G. Sala. "The EUCLIDES concentrator", Concentrator Photovoltaics (Springer Series in Optical Sciences Volume 130) 130 (2007), p. 279-299.