Patent Application
20230238466
The following concerns a method for increasing the energy output of an already installed solar power plant comprising at least one first solar panel, which is absorbing sunlight in a first frequency band, wherein a semi-transparent second solar panel, which absorbs light in a second frequency band, is mounted on top of at least one of the at least one first solar panel and connected to a power electronics device of the solar power plant comprising at least one solar inverter, wherein the first and second frequency bands do not or only partially overlap such that the second solar panel allows at least a part of the light of the first frequency band to pass. The following further concerns a solar power plant retrofitting system and a solar power plant.
Power plants using photovoltaics (PV) have already been proposed in the state of the art in different sizes, ranging from roof-mounted solar farms to large-scale facilities, in particular in the so-called solar belt. Solar power plants usually comprise one or more solar panels, also called photovoltaic modules (PV modules) or photovoltaic panels (PV panels). Each solar panel comprises multiple solar cells, which are also called photovoltaic cells. Solar cells are devices that convert solar radiation to electrical energy. Today, solar panels are mostly based on silicon technology, i.e., use silicon solar cells, which rely on harvesting light from a limited portion of the solar radiation spectrum. Moreover, silicon technology is close to maturity, which means that silicon-based solar panels are close to their maximum theoretical power conversion efficiency (PCE) limit. These boundary conditions limit the energy generation of silicon-based photovoltaics.
Regarding silicon-based solar panels, to improve efficiency, it has, for example, been proposed to optimize manufacturing processes to curtail efficiency losses. In other approaches, heterojunction technology (HJT) solar panels have been proposed to produce higher amounts of energy. Such HJT solar panels are comprised of more than one layer of light absorbing material deposited on top of each other to increase device performance.
In the last few years, alternative materials to silicon have also been investigated. A promising material are perovskites. A perovskite is any material having the same crystal structure as calcium titanate. Such a material, as shown in recent research projects, has the advantage of having a high absorption of light their absorbed frequency band and also high diffusion length. High efficiencies of 15% or more have been shown.
In perovskites, the band gap of the absorber material can be tuned such that certain frequency bands, in which light is absorbed, can be modified and/or displaced. In this respect, some studies have proposed so-called tandem solar cells, in which two absorber materials having different, non-overlapping frequency bands are employed, wherein the upper absorber material may be transparent regarding the frequency band absorbed by the lower material. In this manner, a larger portion of the frequency spectrum of sunlight may be absorbed and its energy can be converted to electrical energy, providing a higher efficiency. For example, in an article by David P. McMeekin et al. “A mixed-cation lead mixed-halide perovskite absorber for tandem solar cells”, Science 351 (2016), pages 151-155, a semi-transparent perovskite device was created and the performance of a silicon solar cell after filtering the sunlight through the perovskite top cell was measured, indicating the feasibility of achieving more than 25% efficiency in perovskite/silicon tandem cells. However, such technologies are still topic of research and not yet applicable to implement a new class of solar power plants.
AT 16 573 U1 discloses a method for restoring or increasing the nominal capacity of a photovoltaic power plant. At least one first photovoltaic module of the photovoltaic power plant is provided and electrically isolated from a string cable infrastructure of the photovoltaic power plant. A second photovoltaic module is attached to a front side of the first photovoltaic module so that the second photovoltaic module at least partially covers the area of the front side of the first photovoltaic module. Finally, the second photovoltaic module is connected to the string cable infrastructure of the photovoltaic power plant. The first photovoltaic module is completely shadowed by the second photovoltaic module.
DE 10 2018 216 768 A1 concerns improving the efficiency of an already existing, installed photovoltaic system, wherein a film-like, laminated perovskite photovoltaic cell, if appropriate in addition to the associated power electronics unit, is added to an existing photovoltaic cell of the existing photovoltaic system and is arranged on the existing photovoltaic cell in such a way that light from a light source, which is to be converted into electrical energy by the existing photovoltaic system, initially falls onto the perovskite photovoltaic cell and subsequently falls onto the existing photovoltaic cell. In this manner, an existing photovoltaic system is upgraded such that the efficiency thereof is improved without replacement of components.
An aspect relates to a possibility to increase the efficiency and thus energy output of already-installed, operational solar power plants.
In a method for increasing the output of an already installed solar power plant, comprising at least one first solar panel which is absorbing sunlight in a first frequency band, according to embodiments of the invention, a semi-transparent second solar panel, which absorbs light in a second frequency band not overlapping the first frequency band and allows light of the first frequency band to pass, is mounted on top of at least one of the least one first solar panel and connected to a power electronics device of the solar power plant, wherein the power electronics device comprises at least one solar inverter, wherein the first and second frequency bands to not or only partially overlap such that the second solar panel allows at least a part of the light of the first frequency band to pass, wherein for at least one of the at least one second solar panel, an electronic adaptation device is installed, which disables the second solar panel or reduces its output when the power input capacity of the power electronics device is exceeded.
As used in this description, a solar panel, which may also be termed photovoltaic module or photovoltaic panel, comprises multiple solar cells, which may also be called photovoltaic cells. A solar inverter, which may also be called photovoltaic inverter, is an inverter which is adapted for use with solar panels, for example implementing maximum power point tracking and/or anti-islanding protection. In large-scale power plants, a large number of first solar panels may be used, for example arranged as a so-called solar array, which may also be called photovoltaic array. Depending on the maximum power output expected, some solar power plants may include more than one solar inverter. The first solar panel used in the already installed solar power plant comprises an at least essentially flat surface, on which the sunlight shines to be at least partly absorbed by the absorber material used in the solar cells of the first solar panel. According to embodiments of the invention, it is proposed to mount an additional, second solar panel onto the surface of the first solar panel, upon which the sunlight incides. The second solar panel is semi-transparent at least in the sense that at least a part of the light of the first frequency band to be absorbed by the first solar panel passes through the second solar panel, while light of the second frequency band is absorbed by the absorber material of the solar cells of the second solar panel. For example, 92-99%, in particular 97-98%, of the light of the first frequency band may be transmitted through the second solar panel, such that a low shadowing effect, for example in the range of 2-3%, may be existent. If, now, the second solar panel adds more energy yield, for example 5-15% energy yield, this shadowing effect is overcompensated such that the overall power conversion efficiency and hence the energy output of the so-retrofitted first solar panel is increased.
In other words, the energy production of operational solar power plants, in particular solar farms, may be improved by placing semi-transparent second solar panels on top of the already existing first solar panels, in particular for each of the first solar panels. A first part of the power is generated in the semi-transparent second solar panels and a second part of the power is generated by converting the remaining light energy via the underneath positioned first solar panel, since light of the first frequency band at least partially passes through the semi-transparent second solar panels. The semi-transparent solar panel absorbs light from a non-overlapping or only partially overlapping portion of the solar spectrum, that is, the second frequency band, regarding the portion of the solar spectrum absorbed by the first solar panels, that is, the first frequency band, leading to an increase in the cumulative amount of absorbed sunlight and correspondingly electrical energy.
In an embodiment, the first and second frequency bands do not overlap, such that only light outside the first frequency band is absorbed for power generation by the second solar panel. In this manner, apart from a small remaining shadowing effect, light of the first frequency spectrum remains available for absorption by the first solar panel. However, in some embodiments, a small amount of overlapping of the second frequency band onto the first frequency band may be tolerable, such that still a large fraction of the second energy band covers frequencies not in the first frequency band. For example, the overlap onto the first frequency band may be less than 50%, less then 20%, most less than 10% of the total width of the second frequency band.
In embodiments of the current invention, the first solar panel may comprise silicon solar cells, that is, may be silicon-based, and/or the second solar panel may comprise perovskite solar cells, that is, may be perovskite-based. Most of the solar power plants, in particular solar farms, that are in operation use silicon-based solar panels, for example employing amorphous silicon solar cells (a-Si), crystalline silicon solar cells (c-Si), polycrystalline solar cells (multi-Si) or monocrystalline solar cells (mono-Si). In an embodiment, the semi-transparent top layer of second solar panel may be based on perovskite technology, that is, comprise perovskite solar cells. While, on the one hand, perovskite is a cost-efficient absorber material, on the other hand, a perovskite-based absorber material can expediently be tuned to a second frequency band not or only slightly overlapping with the first frequency band used by common silicon-based solar panels. It is noted that, of course, other layers of the solar cells of the second solar panels are also at least semi-transparent regarding at least the first frequency band, in particular the electrodes and other layers used, wherein such (semi-)transparent, conducting electrodes and other layers have already been proposed and are known from the state of the art. In an embodiment, the second solar panel may comprise a glass substrate, in particular carrying the perovskite solar cells. Glass substrates have shown advantages regarding durability, stability and sealing. In particular, the second solar panel may not comprise laminates.
By retrofitting second solar panels harvesting light in a second frequency band not used by the first solar panel, additional power generation and thus energy generation from the operational solar power plant, in particular solar farm, is achieved. That is, the amount of power at a given point in time is increased. This advantage comes without the requirement for additional land and/or possibly power electronics, such that higher performance, and, in respect of land coverage and power electronics, lower cost is achieved. In particular, a portion of light energy that otherwise would not be used by traditional solar panels or photovoltaics is harvested by the second solar panels. The existing power electronics of the operational, already installed solar power plant can be used either with or without modification, as will be further discussed below. In some embodiments, only the at least one additional second solar panel needs to be provided, installed and connected to the power electronics device, such that, in summary, a simply realizable cost-efficient way to increase the energy output of the already installed solar power plant is provided.
If the already installed further components of the solar power plant, in particular the at least one solar inverter and/or the cable connecting the first solar panels to the power electronics device, in particular the at least one solar inverter, already have a capacity that allows for the additional power and thus energy of the second solar panels in addition to that of the first solar panels, taking into account the already mentioned shadowing effect, the second solar panel may simply be mounted and connected using the cables and power electronics already present.
If, however, installing the second solar panels would lead to power generation exceeding the power capacity of the already-installed cable and/or power electronics, several options are considered in embodiments of the current invention, which may also be used in a complementary way.
Regarding the cables, it is generally envisioned that each second solar panel comprises at least one positive and at least one negative terminal. Such positive and negative terminals may be part of a junction box of the second solar panel or, generally speaking, an interface. Cables may be connected to such terminals, in particular for transporting generated DC to the power electronics device.
In an embodiment wherein the power capacity of the cables connecting the first solar panel to the power electronics device is not sufficient to sustain the increased power output of the combination of first and second solar panels at all times, the second solar panel may be connected to the power electronics device using a separate cable to the cable of the first solar panel, at least for a length of the connection distance that is covered by cable having the too low power capacity.
Regarding the at least one solar inverter, in an embodiment, the at least one pre-installed inverter may be replaced or supplemented by at least one new inverter to increase the power input capacity of the power electronics device before the second solar panel is put into operation. That is, the performance of the power electronics device may be increased according to the increased potential for power generation of the solar panels.
In other embodiments, the solar power plant may comprise multiple first solar panels, wherein only a fraction of the first solar panels are retrofitted using second solar panels, such that the power input capacity of the power electronics device is met. That is, by varying the number of second solar panels, the system may be custom-tailored to a given, nominal maximum power input capacity.
In a similar embodiment, which may also be combined with the previous embodiment, the first solar panel is only partly covered by the second solar panel. That is, the light incident surface of at least one second solar panel is smaller than the light incidence surface of the first solar panel, such that the semi-transparent top layer solar panel is sized differently than the bottom layer of the pre-existing solar panels, in particular to match the power electronics requirements. In an example, only half the surface of the first solar panel may be covered by the second solar panel.
Regarding a solar power plant retrofitting system, such a system may be modular, in particular, comprise second solar panels of different sizes. The number of second solar panels to be installed and the size can be custom-tailored to a specific, already installed solar power plant such that the full power input capacity of the power electronics device is taken advantage of
In another approach, to match the power input capacity of the power electronics device, the orientation of the two panels, that is, the combination (structural unit) formed by mounting the second solar panel onto the first solar panel, are changed. In the case that performance improvement due to the addition of the second solar panel cannot be utilized fully due to insufficient inverter capacity, the angle and spatial configuration of the pre-existing first solar panel may be modified, for example, by changing the orientation of the first solar panel from North/South to East/West with respect to the sun, wherein subsequently, the second solar panel can be installed in the same orientation (sandwich form) to the re-oriented first solar panel. Alternatively, the second solar panel may be installed onto the pre-existing first solar panel, whereafter the orientation may be modified. Such change of orientation leads to a lower power maximum in the light harvest profile of the solar panel combination at the peak sunlight hours, whereas at the time when the sunlight incides onto the light incidence surface at an angle, the light harvest amount is increased. In other words, capacity of the at least one solar inverter is freed up regarding the first solar panel and can be utilized by the semi-transparent second solar panel, which is placed on top of the pre-existing first solar panel. A suitable orientation may be, for example, calculated and/or simulated such that the maximum power output of the retrofitted first and second solar panels is equal to or less than the maximum power input capacity of the power electronics device.
In another embodiment, the first solar panel may have a sun tracking unit associated to it for orienting the first solar panel according to a current position of the sun, wherein the control program for the sun tracking unit may be modified depending on the power input capacity of the power electronics device. Such a sun tracking unit, sometimes simply called “tracker”, may adapt at least one angle of the first solar panel such that, usually, optimal efficiency is achieved. If, however, after installing the second solar panel, the efficiency of the combination leads to a power output that is too high for the power electronics device to handle, in particular during peak sunlight hours in the light harvest profile, control of the sun tracking unit may be adapted such that the power output of all solar panels in the solar power plant is always less than or equal to the power input capacity or the power electronics device. Such an embodiment employing a sun tracking unit is advantageous since the optimum efficiency may be used most of the time, while only in peak hours, efficiency has to be purposefully reduced to match the power input capacity of the power electronics device, in particular the at least one solar inverter.
In an embodiment, to match the power input capacity of the power electronics device, for at least one of the at least one second solar panel, an electronic adaptation device is installed, which disables the second solar panel or reduces its output when the power input capacity of the power electronics device is exceeded. That is, if at any point in time too much power as output by the combinations of first and second solar panels, at least a part of the second solar panels may be disabled and/or have their power output reduced, for example in peak sunlight hours. In concrete embodiments, the electronic adaptation device may comprise an attenuator and/or a shortcut switch. For example, the electronic adaptation device may be provided in an interface unit of the second solar panel, which may also provide the above-mentioned terminals. A control unit controlling the electronic adaptation device may also be included as a part of the second solar panel, for example as a part of the interface. In this manner, all second solar panels may be independently controlled such that a certain power output maximum for all combinations of first and second solar panels can be achieved. In other embodiments, also a central control device for all electronic adaptation devices may be provided. The control device of the solar power plant may be used. In an embodiment, the electronic adaptation device may be controlled based on an output current of the first and/or second solar panel. At least one corresponding sensor may be provided.
In an embodiment, the power electronics device and/or the electronic adaptation device may be separate components and not be encapsulated in the first and/or second solar panel and/or a joint module of the first and/or second solar panel.
Generally, multiple options for retrofittingly mounting the second solar panel on top of the first solar panel, which are known from the state of the art, may be employed. For example, a transparent glue may be used, and/or brackets may be employed. In some embodiments, it is also possible to not directly install the second solar panel onto the first solar panel, but use an intermediate, in particular transparent, module which is first mounted, for example screwed, onto the first solar panel.
Embodiments of the invention also concern a solar power plant retrofitting system for a solar power plant having at least one first solar panel, which absorbs light in a first frequency band, the solar power plant retrofitting system comprising at least one semi-transparent second solar panel, which absorbs light in a second frequency band, to be mounted on top of at least one of the at least one solar panel, and connection means to connect the second solar panel to a power electronics device of the solar power plant comprising at least one solar inverter, wherein the first and second frequency bands to not or only partially overlap such that the second solar panel allows at least a part of the light of the first frequency band to pass, wherein at least one of the at least one second solar panel comprises an electronic adaptation device to disable the second solar panel or to reduce its output when the power input capacity of the power electronics device of the solar power plant is exceeded. Using the solar power plant retrofitting system of embodiments of the invention, in particular by implementing the method according to embodiments of the invention, an already installed solar power plant may be improved regarding efficiency, power output and, consequently, energy output. All features and comments regarding the method according to embodiments of the invention correspondingly apply to the solar power plant retrofitting system according to embodiments of the invention, such that the same advantages may be achieved.
In particular, the second solar panel may comprise perovskite solar cells. Further, the second solar panel may comprise at least one positive and at least one negative terminal and the connection means may comprise at least one cable for connection to the power electronics device. Such a cable may provide complete connection to the power electronics device, in particular if the power transport capacity of the already installed cable is too low, and/or may be used to join DC current produced by the second solar panel into an already installed cable transporting the DC current generated by the first solar panel.
In embodiments, at least one of the at least one second solar panel may be dimensioned to only partly cover the first solar panel. In particular, the system may comprise multiple differently sized second solar panels such that a number of second solar panels to be installed may be chosen to match the power input capacity of the power electronics device of the solar power plant.
According to embodiments of the invention, at least one of the at least one second solar panel comprises an electronic adaption device to disable the second solar panel or to reduce its output when the power input capacity of the power electronics device of the solar power plant is exceeded, as described above. Hence, the electronic adaptation device may comprise an attenuator and/or a shortcut switch.
Finally, embodiments of the invention also concern a solar power plant having been retrofitted using a solar power plant retrofitting system according to embodiments of the invention and/or a method according to embodiments of the invention. All features and comments discussed regarding the method according to embodiments of the invention and the solar power plant retrofitting system according to embodiments of the invention correspondingly apply to the solar power plant according to embodiments of the invention. In particular, the first solar panel may comprise silicon solar cells.
Some of the embodiments will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein like designations denote like members, wherein:
The solar system 1 may also comprise a rack or stand 4 for the solar panels 2, for example for positioning them in a certain orientation on the ground or, in other cases, on a roof or the like. Optionally, the rack or stand 4 may comprise a sun tracking unit 5 to change orientation of the solar panel 2 over time according to the current position of the sun.
The solar panels 2 may further comprise an interface 6, for example a junction box, which has, not shown in
The operation of the solar power plant 1 may be controlled a central control device 12, usually associated with or integrated into the power electronics device 8. The power electronics device 8 may, for example, be provided in a dedicated building, or, regarding smaller solar power plants, in a cabinet or the like.
In an exemplary concrete embodiment, the silicon solar cells 3 may use a first frequency band in the visible to infrared spectrum, for example 500-800 nm wavelength, such that the perovskite solar cells 16 may use a second frequency band, for example, in the ultraviolet spectrum.
Due to the semi-transparent configuration of the second solar panels 14, 15, they may be installed on top of the first solar panels 2 to yield an increased efficiency for the combination of the two panels 2 and 14, 15. For example, the semi-transparent second solar panel 14 may transmit 97-98% of the sunlight in the first frequency band to the first solar panel 2, wherein the shadowing effect of 2-3% is overcompensated by the electrical power generated by the second solar panel by absorbing sunlight in the second frequency band. In summary, a power conversion efficiency increase is provided by retrofitting the first solar panel 2 of the already operational and installed solar power plant 1 with second solar panels 14, 15 of the solar power plant retrofitting system 13. To mount the second solar panels 14, 15 onto the first solar panel 2, the solar power plant retrofitting system 13 further comprises fixing means 18, which are exemplarily shown as brackets, but may also comprise glue, framing profiles and the like. To connect the second solar panels 14, 15 to the power electronics device 8, in particular the at least one solar inverter 9, connection means 19, in particular cables 20, may further be part of the solar power plant retrofitting system 13.
While some solar power plants 1 may not use the full power input capacity of their at least one solar converter 9, such that the additional power generated by the second solar panels 14, 15 may be accepted at all times, in some cases, there may be a risk of temporarily exceeding the power input capacity of the at least one solar converter 9 of the already-installed solar power plant 1. In such a case, embodiments of the invention propose multiple approaches, which may also be used additionally, that is, complementing each other. For example, as has already been explained with regard to
As already indicated regarding
Although the present invention has been disclosed in the form of embodiments and variations thereon, it will be understood that numerous additional modifications and variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.
For the sake of clarity, it is to be understood that the use of “a” or “an” throughout this application does not exclude a plurality, and “comprising” does not exclude other steps or elements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20178882.5 | Jun 2020 | EP | regional |
This application claims priority to PCT Application No. PCT/EP2021/064760, having a filing date of Jun. 2, 2021, which claims priority to European Application No. 20178882.5, having a filing date of Jun. 9, 2020, the entire contents both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2021/064760 | 6/2/2021 | WO |
