EME 812
Utility Solar Power and Concentration

Summary and Final Tasks

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Summary and Final Tasks

In this lesson, you learned about the special type of PV systems - concentrating photovoltaics. There are a few important features that make this technology attractive. They include:

  • high efficiency of light conversion (reaching 40% and above based on some laboratory tests);
  • small size of cells, which allows the use of less expensive PV materials;
  • economic land use by CPV systems.

At the same time, sophisticated design, necessary for precise tracking and cell cooling, is responsible for higher cost of CPV systems and high price of electricity compared to regular PV or non-renewable power generation systems. The activities in this lesson are oriented towards understanding some fundamental parameters of PV and CPV system analysis.

The table below summarizes all activities that are due for this lesson. Some of those have been included in the body of the lesson, and this list simply repeats them for your reference.

Lesson 5 Assignments
Type Description/Instructions Deadline
Reading Quiz/Reflection This assignment presents you with a set of questions, which check your knowledge and understanding of some concepts discussed in the paper assigned for reading: Cotal H. et al., III-V multijunction solar cells for concentrating photovoltaics, Energy Environ. Sci., 2009, 2, 174. Due date - next Wednesday
Written Assignment  
  • Please refer to Lesson 5 Module in Canvas to find the Lesson 5 assignment activity sheet.
  • Using concepts learned in this and previous lessons, solve all the problems, showing your work and marking the answers clearly.
  • You can type your solutions, or you can hand-write them and scan to a PDF (just make sure that all is legible).
  • Submit your work to Lesson 5 Dropbox.
 Due date - next Wednesday 
Yellowdig discussion  Join the Yellowdig community for conversation about this lesson material. Check Module 5 in Canvas for suggested topics. The point earning period for this week runs from Saturday to next Friday

References for Lesson 5

Green Rhino Energy, Concentrating Photovoltaics 2014.
Kurtz, S. (June 2011). “Opportunities and Challenges for Development of a Mature Concentrating Photovoltaic Power Industry.” Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory.. Accessed July 2011.
Luque A., Solar cells and Optics for Photovoltaic Concentration, Adam Hilger, Bristol, 1989.
Markvart, T., Solar Electricity, 2nd Edition, John Wiley and Sons. 2000.
Mendelsohn, M., Lowder, T., and Canavan, B., Utility-Scale Concentrating Solar Power and Photovoltaics Projects: A Technology and Market Overview, NREL/TP-6A20-51137. Technical Report. 2012