Conversion and testing of a solar thermal parabolic trough collector for CPV-T application

Abstract

In the field of solar power generation, concentrator systems, such as concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) or concentrated solar power (CSP), are subject of intensive research activity, due to high efficiencies in electrical power generation compared to conventional photovoltaics (PV) and low-cost energy storage on the thermal side. Even though the idea of combining the thermal and electrical part in one absorber is obvious, very few hybrid systems (i.e., concentrator photovoltaics-thermal systems (CPV-T)) are either described in literature or commercially available. This paper features the conversion of a commercial thermal parabolic trough collector to a CPV-T hybrid system using multi-junction PV cells. The design process is described in detail starting with the selection of suitable PV cells, elaborating optical and mechanical system requirements, heat sink design and final assembly. Feasibility is proven by practical tests involving maximum power point tracking as well as empirical determination of heat generation and measurement results are presented.