Lower Cost CPV 3-Sun Mirror Modules
- JX Crystals, Inc.
- ORNL
In a series of patent applications filed between 2002 and 2005, JX Crystals Inc described a evolutionary lower-cost low-concentration planar solar photovoltaic module that uses multiple linear rows of silicon cells and standard one-sun circuit laminations incorporating glass and EVA weather proofing encapsulations. The three novel features that we described are interdependent and integrated together to yield lower cost PV modules. These 3 novel features are: (1) The use of rows of linear mirrors or linear Fresnel lenses aligned with the cell rows and concentrating the sunlight onto the cell rows. (2) The addition of a thin aluminum sheet heat spreader on the back of the circuit lamination to spread the heat away from the cell rows so that the cell operating temperature remains acceptably low. (3) The incorporation of slots in the back of the aluminum sheet heat spreader to accommodate the differences in thermal expansion between the silicon cells, the glass, and the aluminum so that the circuit interconnectivity is maintained over time. Various embodiments of this planar linear concentrator panel are shown in figures 1 to 5. Figures 1 and 2 show the original planar linear concentrator module concept from July of 2002 with either mirrors (figure 1) or linear Fresnel lenses (figure 2). The idea was expanded in 2003 with the idea of an aluminum sheet heat spreader added to the back of a standard PV circuit lamination as shown in figure 3. In 2003, we also transitioned from half cells to third cells using SunPower cells as shown in figure 4. JX Crystals Inc then received funding for the 3-sun PV mirror module concept from the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission in 2003 and from the Shanghai Flower Port and the Shanghai Import and Export Trading Company in 2005. This funding led to a 800 panel pilot production run of our JX Crystals designed 3-sun module in 2006. 672 of these panels were installed in a 100 kW demonstration and an additional 24 panels were installed in a second 4 kW demonstration both at the Flower Port in Shanghai. Both of these systems were completed in 2006. Our 3-sun PV Panel concept has been described previously (see references 1, 2, & 3 available at www.jxcrystals.com under publication tab). We are now interested in bringing this potentially lower cost 3-sun technology back to the US. For any new technology, three issues need to be addressed. They are performance, durability, and cost. These topics are addressed in the next 3 sections.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 984749
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: CPV Workshop, Marburg, Germany, 20071011, 20071012
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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