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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.
A solar power tower consists of an array of dual-axis tracking reflectors ( heliostats) that concentrate sunlight on a central receiver atop a tower; the receiver contains a heat-transfer fluid, which can consist of water-steam or molten salt. Optically a solar power tower is the same as a circular Fresnel reflector.
Such a lens can focus light on a small spot, but does not produce a sharp image. These lenses have application in solar power, such as focusing sunlight on a solar panel. Fresnel lenses may be used as components of Köhler illumination optics resulting in very effective nonimaging optics Fresnel-Köhler (FK) solar concentrators. [64] Linear
Concentrated photovoltaic thermal system. The combination of photovoltaic (PV) technology, solar thermal technology, and reflective or refractive solar concentrators has been a highly appealing option for developers and researchers since the late 1970s and early 1980s. The result is what is known as a concentrated photovoltaic thermal (CPVT ...
Solar thermal energy ( STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors. Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors.
A compact linear Fresnel reflector ( CLFR) – also referred to as a concentrating linear Fresnel reflector – is a specific type of linear Fresnel reflector ( LFR) technology. They are named for their similarity to a Fresnel lens, in which many small, thin lens fragments are combined to simulate a much thicker simple lens.
Nonimaging optics (also called anidolic optics) is a branch of optics that is concerned with the optimal transfer of light radiation between a source and a target. Unlike traditional imaging optics, the techniques involved do not attempt to form an image of the source; instead an optimized optical system for optimal radiative transfer from a source to a target is desired.
A parabolic trough collector (PTC) is a type of solar thermal collector that is straight in one dimension and curved as a parabola in the other two, lined with a polished metal mirror. The sunlight which enters the mirror parallel to its plane of symmetry is focused along the focal line, where objects are positioned that are intended to be heated.