Collaborative Prototype Development Test Project for a Novel Hybrid Solar Concentrating Cogeneration System

摘要

"SuperSurya" is a novel, patented hybrid solar concentrating cogeneration system intended to synergistically and cost-effectively harvest both (a) electricity and (b) usable heat for hot water heating and supplementary building heat & optionally swimming pool heating. The electric power is harvested with a low-concentration CPV (concentrated photovoltaic) subsystem using a linear receiver and framed inflatable concentrating mirrors, building upon earlier demonstration of inflatable heliostat technology by RIC Enterprises with some Department Of Energy support. In the SuperSurya configuration, two-axis heliostatic tracking is used to optimize solar energy harvest, and a liquid cooling system uses a heat transfer fluid to convert waste heat from the CPV cooling system into value-added usable heat. Where conventional solar panels only convert around 15 - 20% of incident sunlight into beneficial use for electricity and waste the remaining 80 - 85%; with this cogeneration invention SuperSurya will be targeted to potentially convert 60% of incident sunlight into beneficial use (15 - 20% for electricity, 40 - 45% for usable heat). RIC Enterprises, a Washington State nonprofit corporation, and West Sound Technical Skills Center, a distinctive Washington State technical education institution, are working together collaboratively to design, build and test a full-scale prototype of SuperSurya, the first of its kind in the world. Future offshore versions can efficiently harvest electricity with combined CPV and solar thermal subsystems & synergistically perform low-temperature desalination.