Abstract
The worldwide CPV(Concentrated Photo Voltaic) market has been increased rapidly due to the increase in large-scale PV(Photo Voltaic) plants which are situated in sun-rich areas with either a Mediterranean or equatorial-type climate. CPV systems are arguably some of the most important devices in the production of electricity within regions with a sun-rich climate, particularly those which benefit from abundant direct solar irradiation. We have developed a 500X CPV module with rated power of 170Wp. The CPV module must satisfy the constraint of having a sensitive tracking accuracy due to the limited tolerance of the acceptance angle in intrinsic optical design. In this study, the module's acceptance angle used was designed with a tolerance angle of ${\pm}1^{\circ}$ in the secondary optics design. In general, non-concentrated module type 2-axis trackers have a tolerance angle larger than ${\pm}1^{\circ}$ due to standard silicon-type modules which are insensitive to the tracking accuracy of the sun. They have a tolerance angle of ${\pm}2{\sim}4^{\circ}$, which fails to exert a significant influence on the performance of the module. This paper provides a study of an experimental variation of the efficiency of the CPV module in terms of its tracking accuracy. Also, the performance of the module is studied from the perspective of temperature and direct irradiation.
