Concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) refers to the technology that directly converts the converged photovoltaic cells with high conversion efficiency into electric energy. CPV is the most typical representative of concentrated solar power generation technology
The use of crystalline silicon cells and thin film cells for photoelectric conversion are the first and second generation solar energy utilization technologies respectively, which have been widely used. Concentrating solar energy technology, which uses optical elements to gather sunlight and then use it for power generation, is considered to be the third generation technology of the future development trend of solar power generation.
Concentrating photovoltaic is a technology that uses concentrating technology to gather sunlight to the surface of solar cells for power generation by replacing expensive solar cells with relatively cheap concentrators.The condensing system includes concentrator, secondary concentrator, mirror, etc. in the application of condensing photovoltaic, the main consideration is the multiple of condensing, the radiation intensity distribution and spectrum of the light spot after condensing.
On the premise of comprehensive consideration of performance and cost, different forms of concentrator, solar cell and tracking system are adopted for engineering design according to needs to form a concentrating photovoltaic system.
Among them, heat dissipation must be given priority, because the convergence of sunlight will form a very high temperature on the surface of the solar cell. If the heat cannot be dissipated in time, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cells will be greatly affected, and even the solar cells will be burned. Heat dissipation is divided into active heat dissipation and passive heat dissipation. Many designs propose to use active heat dissipation to develop electrothermal combination, so as to better improve the utilization efficiency of solar energy. Generally speaking, the application of heat dissipation technology is mainly based on the technology accumulated in the research of semiconductor chip heat dissipation in the past. The reliability and maintainability of the system are also important factors to be considered. If the design is improper, the later operation cost may even exceed the earlier system purchase cost.