Retrosol: Experimental testing of a hybrid CPV retrofit for existing parabolic trough powerplants

Abstract

As PV prices have fallen, the technology has seen significant increase in market installation but there still exists a significant number of installed CSP plants. Here we experimentally demonstrate a retrofit system for existing CSP systems that installs dichroic mirrors the redirects a portion of the incoming spectra to actively cooled PV cells. This approach leverages existing installed capacity to boost the electricity output of the plant for low installed cost.