Automated dual‐axis planar solar tracker with controllable vertical displacement for concentrating solar microcell arrays

Lim, Tae‐Hoon; Kwak, Pyo; Song, Kwangsun; Kim, Namyun; Lee, Jongho

doi:10.1002/pip.2843

Cited by 19 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…[14,27] Furthermore, micro-CPV enables the tracker integration in a module by moving internal subcomponents to continuously capture concentrated sunlight, with displacements of only a few millimeters needed. [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] A salient example is the integrated tracking approach from Insolight S.A. using a high acceptance double convex optic and a movable cell-plane. A measured electrical efficiency of 29% was achieved, and the technology is currently being commercially deployed.…”

Section: Doi: 101002/solr202300363mentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Micro‐Scale Concentrating Photovoltaics: A Scalable Path Toward High‐Efficiency, Low‐Cost Solar Power

Jost

Juejun

et al. 2023

Solar RRL

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The global energy market is seeing increases in the electricity demand of a couple of percentage points annually. The photovoltaic (PV) industry is also growing rapidly every year. One of the PV technologies is concentrator photovoltaics (CPV). CPV uses high‐efficiency multijunction solar cells and optics to concentrate sunlight, thereby significantly reducing the amount of semiconductor material needed. Yet, due to the high upfont manufacturing cost of CPV, it currently does not offer a competitive price against silicon PV. With this a new branch is introduced to the industry, micro‐CPV, which can be broadly explained as the miniaturization of the solar cells and optical components. The motivation for micro‐CPV is lowering the cost by decreasing the material volume and enabling new system architectures and high‐throughput manufacturing methods, while still maintaining high electrical efficiencies, taking advantage of a lower thermal load, shorter optical paths, lower resistive losses, and lower material volumes. Herein, a comprehensive review of the technological advances is presented, key synergies between micro‐CPV and other industries sharing similar challenges are identified, exemplified by micro‐light emitting diodes display manufacturing. New assembly process development in these industries will facilitate commercial adoption of micro‐CPV with continued miniaturization while driving down the cost.

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Section: Doi: 101002/solr202300363mentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Micro‐Scale Concentrating Photovoltaics: A Scalable Path Toward High‐Efficiency, Low‐Cost Solar Power

Jost

Juejun

et al. 2023

Solar RRL

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“… Illustration of the accuracy of solar tracking by using CPV technology (Image ( a ): (1) solar cell, Ø = 3 mm; (2) heat sink; (3) direct, focused solar radiation (focal point [ 61 ]) set incorrectly; Image ( b ): (4) direct, focused solar radiation (focal point [ 61 ]) set precisely). …”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

A Control Process for Active Solar-Tracking Systems for Photovoltaic Technology and the Circuit Layout Necessary for the Implementation of the Method

Zsiborács

Pintér

Vincze

et al. 2022

Sensors

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What basically determines how much energy is generated by a photovoltaic (PV) system is the amount of solar irradiation that is absorbed by its PV modules. One of the technical solutions to boost this quantity, and thusly also maximize the return on PV investments, is solar tracking, which makes the following of the sun on its daily and annual journey in the sky possible and also takes changes in cloud conditions into consideration. The solar-tracking solutions that PV systems are most frequently equipped with deploy active sensor technologies, while passive ones are less common in present-day practice. However, even the popular solutions of today have their limitations. Their active sensor-tracking algorithms leave room for improvement for at least three major reasons, as they do not prevent the unnecessary operation of the motors in cloudy weather, they do not make the modules assume an appropriate position after nightfall, and they do not make sure that the structure and the electronics of the PV systems are protected from rain and the strong winds in the event of storms. This paper introduces a new active sensor-tracking algorithm, which has not only been tested but it is also in the process of patenting (patent ID: p2100209). By their contribution, the authors endeavor to propose a solution that can solve all three of the issues mentioned above. The concept is based on two fundamental findings. According to the first one, periodic movement can not only considerably decrease motor movement but also increase system lifetime, while the second one simply suggests that moving the modules into an almost horizontal position facing the equator at low light levels is conducive to the prevention of damages caused by storms and fast reaction to the increase in the amount of light at daybreak. A positive feature of the new system for PV power plant operators is that it performs the tracking of the sun practically without any decrease in power compared to the focal point position, since it works with an average inaccuracy of 1.9°.

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“…Other mechanisms that pursue the same objective have been published in the literature. 7,8 The planar micro-tracking enables Insolight modules to be installed at a fixed tilt in a static frame (Figure 1A). Direct sunlight is focused by a polymer lens array onto III-V triple-junction cells with a concentration factor of 180×.…”

Section: Insolight's Planar Micro-tracking Module With Diffuse Light Harvestingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Industrialization of hybrid Si/III–V and translucent planar micro‐tracking modules

Nardin

Domínguez

Aguilar

et al. 2020

Progress in Photovoltaics

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A tracking-integrated hybrid micro-concentrator module is presented that can harvest direct, diffuse, and albedo irradiance components. It uses biconvex 180× lens arrays to concentrate direct light on high-efficiency III-V solar cells (29% module efficiency has been demonstrated outdoors on direct sunlight at Concentrator Standard Test Conditions) and a planar micro-tracking mechanism to allow installation in static frames. Two architectures have been developed to harvest diffuse irradiance: (1) a hybrid architecture where the backplane is covered with monofacial or bifacial Si cells; (2) a translucent architecture where diffuse light is transmitted through the module for dual-land-use applications, such as agrivoltaics. Simulations show that the hybrid architecture provides an excess of yearly energy production compared to 20% efficiency flat-plate photovoltaic (PV) module in all locations studied, including those with a low direct normal irradiance (DNI) content, and up to 38% advantage in high-DNI locations. The use of bifacial heterojunction and interdigitated back-contact Si cells has been explored for the glass-Si-glass backplane laminate to harvest albedo light. Bifacial gains modeled can boost energy yield by about 30% in the best scenario. We discuss the perspectives of the translucent modules for dual-land-use applications as well, such as integration in greenhouses for agriculture-integrated PV (agrivoltaics). This architecture can provide up to 47% excess electricity compared to a spaced reference Si array that transmits the same amount of solar

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Automated dual‐axis planar solar tracker with controllable vertical displacement for concentrating solar microcell arrays

Cited by 19 publications

References 41 publications

Integrated Micro‐Scale Concentrating Photovoltaics: A Scalable Path Toward High‐Efficiency, Low‐Cost Solar Power

Integrated Micro‐Scale Concentrating Photovoltaics: A Scalable Path Toward High‐Efficiency, Low‐Cost Solar Power

A Control Process for Active Solar-Tracking Systems for Photovoltaic Technology and the Circuit Layout Necessary for the Implementation of the Method

Industrialization of hybrid Si/III–V and translucent planar micro‐tracking modules

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