Trackless LCPV modules: a competitive solution?

The economical sustainability and competitiveness of trackless stationary low concentration photovoltaic (LCPV) modules employing Silicon cells is discussed, as proceeding from detailed expressions for the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCoE). The model here introduced accounts for the performance of concentrating optics in terms of a newly defined yearly averaged effective optical performance ratio, Pro,eff. By comparing the LCoEs of standard and LCPV modules, threshold conditions for Pro,eff and for the cost of concentrating optics can be mapped, in dependence on the geometrical concentration, on the cell efficiency and on other sensitive design parameters. In view of competitiveness on the energy market, elevated Pro,eff has more economical relevance than either high geometrical gain or reduced cost of the optics. Results highlight that stationary LCPV is a viable approach to leverage the exploitation of high-efficiency Si cells on the PV market. We consider this to be a promising evolution strategy for Silicon-based PV modules.