Page 55 - Solar Power in Building Design The Engineer's Complete Design Resource

CRYSTALLINE SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE PRODUCTION 25

Figure 2.3 Formed silicon ingot cylinder in process chamber. Photo courtesy of
SolarWorld.

CONCENTRATOR TECHNOLOGIES

Concentrator-type solar technologies are a class of photovoltaic systems that deploys
a variety of lenses to concentrate and focus solar energy on semiconductor material
used in the manufacture of conventional PV cells. Figure 2.6 depicts solar panel lam-
ination robotic machinery.
The advantage of these types of technologies is that for a comparable surface area
of silicon wafer it becomes possible to harvest considerably more solar energy. Since
silicon wafers used in the manufacture of photovoltaic systems represent a substantial
portion of the product cost, by use of relatively inexpensive magnifying concentrator
lenses it is possible to achieve a higher-efficiency product at a lower cost than con-
ventional PV power systems.
One of the most efficient solar power technologies commercially available for large-
scale power production is a product manufactured by Amonix. This concentrator tech-
nology has been specifically developed for ground installation only and is suitable only
for solar farm-type power cogeneration. The product efficiency of this unique PV solar
power concentrator technology under field test conditions in numerous applications in the
United States (determined by over half a decade of testing by the Department of Energy;
Arizona Public Service; Southern California Edison; and the University of Nevada, Las
Vegas) has exceeded 26 percent, nearly twice that of comparable conventional solar power
systems. At present Amonix is in the process of developing a multijunction concentrating
cell that will augment the solar power energy production efficiency to 36 percent.