Abstract
The US Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) started a three-year program in December 2015 called Microscale Optimized Solar-cell Arrays with Integrated Concentration (MOSAIC). It consists of 11 teams from across the United States. Its goal is to have project teams leverage expertise from conventional flat-plate photovoltaic (PV) system configuration and concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) module technology to produce a new class of modules for residential, commercial, and utility-scale markets. The intent is to increase performance and facilitate cost-effective deployment of solar power systems across a wide range of geographical locations in part by concentrating both direct and diffuse components of the sun's irradiance. This paper describes a collaboration of ARPA-E and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop a bottom-up system cost model for MOSAIC research teams. The model includes an estimate of regional, all-in, CPV installed cost, and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) by using customized inputs parameters, such as module efficiency, cost, and physical dimensions. This techno-economic cost model can help researchers analyze tradeoffs among different design parameters and then prioritize their distinct research opportunities. Moreover, it establishes a standardized cost benchmarking for MOSAIC micro-CPV systems and a normalized comparison against traditional CPV and today's highly competitive flat-plate PV systems. The model is a valuable design tool within the program, helping validate the various technical approaches and compare future deployed system competitiveness versus incumbent technologies in the PV industry.
Original language | American English |
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Number of pages | 9 |
State | Published - 2018 |
Event | 2017 IEEE 44th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) - Washington, D.C. Duration: 25 Jun 2017 → 30 Jun 2017 |
Conference
Conference | 2017 IEEE 44th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) |
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City | Washington, D.C. |
Period | 25/06/17 → 30/06/17 |
NREL Publication Number
- NREL/CP-6A20-68550
Keywords
- balance of system
- BoS
- bottom-up cost model
- concentrated photovoltaics
- CPV
- LCOE
- solar energy