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Status and perspective of concentrating photovoltaic systems: The results of the BioCPV project and opportunities for a sustainable energy supply to rural areas
Date Issued
01-01-2015
Author(s)
Mallick, Tapas K.
Micheli, Leonardo
Banerjee, Sambhu
Shanks, Katie
Lokeswaran, S.
Baig, Hasan
Calabria, Fausto
Sarmah, Nabin
Walker, Mark
Theristis, Marios
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Ghosh, Prakash
Walker, Gavin
Choudhury, Shibani
Pourkashanian, Mohamed
O'Donovan, Tadgh
Hamilton, Joel
Poggio, Davide
Giddings, Donald
Hazara, Amit
Balachandran, S.
Grant, David
Nimmo, William
Ma, Lin
Mathew, Anil K.
Goswami, Ramansu
Chakraborty, Amit
Dinha, Debasree
Bandyopadhyay, Kunal
Almonacid, Florencia
Fernandez, Eduardo F.
Abstract
The present paper reports the results of the BioCPV project, a venture of six universities conceived to develop a novel integrated renewable energy system for an autonomous electrical power generation for rural electrification. Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) is coupled to an Anaerobic Digestion Biogas system through a smart control mechanism to maximize the efficiency and to supply electricity uninterruptedly. The excess electricity generated during the day time is used to generate hydrogen, stored using metal hydride technologies and released during evening hours as input of an electricity generator. The waste heat of the CPV is recovered and used to accelerate the biogas production. The outcomes of the research on concentrating photovoltaic technologies are resumed: two high-concentrating systems have been developed, different thermal and electrical models have been proposed and the results of innovative researches on optics, building-integration and cooling have been presented.