Tracking control and output power optimization of a concentrator photovoltaic system with polar axis

The tracking control and output power optimization of our concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system with polar axis has been studied. The close-loop automatic control based on real-time optical feedback is proposed to implement accurate sun-tracking of our CPV system, in which the hybrid tracking algorithm, making use of the tracking tolerance and timing, is presented. Hence, the strict requirement for the incident angle of sunlight can be satisfied to the maximum extent and the operating costs of our CPV system can be reduced. The power output maximization and tracking control optimization are achieved under the real irradiance of 910 W/m2, which is verified by the corresponding data measurement and error analysis.