Use of mirror or lens assemblies to generate current from multi-junction solar cells
Not to be confused with concentrated solar power.
This Amonix system in Las Vegas, US, consists of thousands of small Fresnel lenses, each focusing sunlight to ~500X higher intensity onto a tiny, high-efficiency multi-junction solar cell.[1]
A Tesla Roadster is parked beneath for scale.
Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) modules on dual axis solar trackers in Golmud, China
Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) (also known as concentrating photovoltaics or concentration photovoltaics) is a photovoltaic technology that generates electricity from sunlight. Unlike conventional photovoltaic systems, it uses lenses or curved mirrors to focus sunlight onto small, highly efficient, multi-junction (MJ) solar cells. In addition, CPV systems often use solar trackers and sometimes a cooling system to further increase their efficiency.[2]: 30
Systems using high-concentration photovoltaics (HCPV) possess the highest efficiency of all existing PV technologies, achieving near 40% for production modules and 30% for systems.[3]: 5 They enable a smaller photovoltaic array that has the potential to reduce land use, waste heat and material, and balance of system costs. The rate of annual CPV installations peaked in 2012 and has fallen to near zero since 2018 with the faster price drop in crystalline silicon photovoltaics.[4]: 24 In 2016, cumulative CPV installations reached 350 megawatts (MW), less than 0.2% of the global installed capacity of 230,000 MW that year.[2]: 10 [3]: 5 [5][6]: 21
HCPV directly competes with concentrated solar power (CSP) as both technologies are suited best for areas with high direct normal irradiance, which are also known as the Sun Belt region in the United States and the Golden Banana in Southern Europe.[6]: 26 CPV and CSP are often confused with one another, despite being intrinsically different technologies from the start: CPV uses the photovoltaic effect to directly generate electricity from sunlight, while CSP – often called concentrated solar thermal – uses the heat from the sun's radiation in order to make steam to drive a turbine, that then produces electricity using a generator. As of 2012[update], CSP was more common than CPV.[7]
^500x concentration ratio is claimed at Amonix website Archived 2018-12-29 at the Wayback Machine.
^ abCite error: The named reference IEA-roadmap-PV-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference Current-status-FHI-NREL-2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Fraunhofer-PR-2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference iea-pvps-snapshot-1992-2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference Fraunhofer-PR-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^PV-insider.com How CPV trumps CSP in high DNI locations Archived 2014-11-22 at the Wayback Machine, 14 February 2012
and 24 Related for: Concentrator photovoltaics information
Concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) (also known as concentratingphotovoltaics or concentration photovoltaics) is a photovoltaic technology that generates...
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied...
countries.: 14 Concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) and high concentratorphotovoltaic (HCPV) systems use optical lenses or curved mirrors to concentrate sunlight...
energy portal Energy portal Dover Sun House Concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) Daylighting List of concentrating solar thermal power companies List of solar...
growth projected as large-scale solar deployment accelerates. In concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) applications, trackers...
increasingly in terrestrial concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV), an emerging technology that uses lenses and curved mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto small,...
science and technology of concentratorphotovoltaics and has been active in the research and development of high-efficiency photovoltaic conversion devices,...
Suncore Photovoltaic Technology Company Limited ("Suncore") is a solar energy company that specializes in concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV), an emerging...
MJ-cells is concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV). Thin-film solar cells are made by depositing one or more thin layers (thin films or TFs) of photovoltaic material...
spacecraft for space-based solar power. They are also used in concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV, HCPV), an emerging technology best suited for locations...
Golmud CPV Solar Park is a 138 MWp (~110 MWAC) concentratorphotovoltaics power station located near Golmud City in Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province...
Organic Solar Concentrators for Photovoltaics Efficiency limits of photovoltaic fluorescent collectors A luminescent solar concentrator with 7.1% power...
Landfill Solar Array is a photovoltaic power station in Albuquerque, New Mexico that consists of 1.0 MWAC of concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) and 1.0 MWAC of...
Touwsrivier CPV Solar Project is a 44 MWp (36 MWAC) concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) power station located 13 km outside the town of Touwsrivier in the...
consideration to lower GaAs solar cell costs could be concentratorphotovoltaics. Concentrators use lenses or parabolic mirrors to focus light onto a...
The Questa Solar Facility is a 1.17 MWp (1.0 MWAC) concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) power station in Questa, New Mexico. Upon its completion in late 2010...
Germany, that specialized in developing and commercializing concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) technology. In December 2009, Concentrix Solar was acquired...
Pressure Vessel, often gas cylinders made of composite materials Concentratorphotovoltaics, a solar power technology Continued process verification, ongoing...
The University of Arizona CPV Array is a 2.38 MWp (2.0 MWAC) concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) power station in Tucson, Arizona. It consists of 34 Amonix...
The Crafton Hills College Solar Farm is a 1.61 MWp (1.30 MWAC) concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) power station in Yucaipa, California. It was built by Rosendin...
(PVT) systems. A Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal system (CPVT) consists of four parts including the absorber, concentrator, solar radiation tracker and...
The Newberry Springs CPV Power Plant is a 1.68 MWp (1.5 MWAC) concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) power station in Newberry Springs, California. It was built...
The Alamosa Solar Generating Plant is a 35.3 MWp (30.0 MWAC) concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) power station, the largest in the world when it was completed...
(5.0 MWAC) photovoltaic power station. It was built by Blattner Energy using 84 dual-axis trackers and Amonix 7700 concentratorphotovoltaics (CPV) panels...