Benefits of a water-borne CPV system

Abstract

We report on a new type of concentrated photovoltaic system designed to float on water. Field data gathered on a prototype system in 2011 is presented to demonstrate the performance and cost advantages of this emerging technology. The impact of this approach on the cost per kilowatt-hour of a commercial system are estimated and discussed. The next steps in the development of this unique technology, the identification of environments best suited to this technology, and the latest design details for a pre-commercial beta system to be tested in 2012, are presented. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.