Historical and recent development of concentrating photovoltaic cooling technologies

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic (PV) is a commercially proven technology to generate electricity directly from the Sun. However, the major limitation of PV technology is its lower efficiency and higher cost as compared to conventional power generation techniques. These problems can be overcome by concentrating photovoltaic (CPV), which is the fastest growing technology due to its lower cost and higher electrical conversion efficiency (of about 40%). Nevertheless, with the increase in the concentration ratio (CR), the solar cell temperature increases, results in decrease in its efficiency and lifespan. This problem of rise in temperature can be overcome by using a proper cooling technology. In this paper review work of various cooling technologies available for CPV systems has been presented. Cooling technology should be reliable, maintain low and uniform cell temperature, easy to operate and efficient in nature.