A photovoltaic panel includes: a plurality of power generation portions each having a light receiving surface, each power generation portion including a plurality of power generating elements each configured to generate power in accordance with an amount of received light; and a coupling portion configured to couple each power generation portion, wherein each power generation portion is coupled so as to be rotatable about the coupling portion used as a rotation axis, and the power generation portions are capable of, by being rotated, taking a light receiving position at which the power generation portions are located such that the light receiving surfaces of the power generation portions are oriented to an identical direction, and a fold position at which the power generation portions are located such that a set of the light receiving surfaces of the power generation portions face each other.

One or more embodiments of the present invention are directed to a photovoltaic system. The system comprises photovoltaic cells, arranged side-by-side to form an array of photovoltaic cells. It further involves a cooling device, which comprises one or more layers, wherein the layers extend opposite to the array of photovoltaic cells and in thermal communication therewith, for cooling the cells, in operation. The one or more layers are structured such that a thermal resistance of the photovoltaic system varies across the array of photovoltaic cells, so as to remove heat from photovoltaic cells of the array with different heat removal rates, in operation. One or more embodiments of the present invention are further directed to related systems and methods for cooling such photovoltaic systems.

An inflatable divergent Fresnel lens and non-imaging CPC based non-tracking high concentration ratio solar concentrator system comprises a flexible domed divergent Fresnel lens, and an inflatable non-imaging CPC concentrator with a domed transparent top cover and a flat transparent bottom cover. Where, the flexible domed divergent Fresnel lens is attached onto the said domed transparent cover of the said inflatable non-imaging CPC concentrator. When in operation, the oblique incident sunlight including beam light and diffuse light onto the domed divergent Fresnel lens, is deflected to change its direction, and consequently change its original incident angle relative to the said CPC concentrator from large to small, then eventually fall in the acceptance half-angle to be concentrated by the said CPC in large concentration ratio.

A method is provided for using asymmetrically focused photovoltaic conversion in a hybrid parabolic trough solar power system. Light rays received in a plurality of transverse planes are concentrated towards a primary linear focus in an axial plane, orthogonal to the transverse planes. T band wavelengths of light are transmitted to the primary linear focus, while R band wavelengths of light are reflected towards a secondary linear focus in the axial plane. The light received at the primary linear focus is translated into thermal energy. The light received at the secondary linear focus is asymmetrically focused along a plurality of tertiary linear foci, orthogonal to the axial plane. The focused light in each tertiary linear focus is concentrated into a plurality of receiving areas and translated into electrical energy. Asymmetrical optical elements are used having an optical input interfaces elongated along rotatable axes, orthogonal to the axial plane.

A solar concentrator device comprising a solar concentrator element comprising a radiation transmissive surface, a radiation absorptive material and a radiation concentrating/collection point and disposed on the incident radiation side thereof a recapture element for recapturing at least a portion of radiation lost from the concentrator element has improved solar radiation collection efficiency by reintroducing recaptured radiation into the concentrator element or by propagating said recaptured radiation through the recapture element to a radiation concentration point associated with the recapture element. It has been found that planar elements having a grooved or corrugated outer surface make for very good recapture elements for planar concentrator elements.

A photovoltaic solar concentrator comprising a non-tracking lens adapted to reach the limits of Etendue conservation for acceptance of a direct and a diffuse solar insolation and to emit a focused light onto an upper surface of a luminescent solar concentrator (LSC). The LSC comprises a crystal with an un-doped semiconductor with high luminescence efficiency in the form of a waveguide that includes a top-hat multi-layer reflector to reflect photo-luminescence within an escape cone of the crystal. A mirror attached to the bottom surface. Mirrors attached to all edges of the crystal except for one of the edges. A solar cell mounted on an un-mirrored edge, or optically connected to the un-mirrored edge of the crystal by a second waveguide, to receive the photo-luminescence trapped within the waveguide.

A solar cell unit having a semiconductor body formed as a solar cell and having a front side and a back side, a carrier with a top side enclosed by at least four edges, a bottom side, and a first contact surface, formed on the top side and connected to the first terminal contact, and a second contact surface, connected to the second terminal contact and spaced apart from the first contact surface, and a secondary optical element. A back side of the semiconductor body is non-positively connected to a part of the top side of the carrier. The secondary optical element guides light to the front side of the semiconductor body and at least parts of the bottom side of the secondary optical element are non-positively connected to the front side of the semiconductor body and/or to the top side of the carrier by a polymer adhesive layer.

A solar cell unit having a semiconductor body formed as a solar cell, whereby the semiconductor body has a front side and a back side, and the solar cell unit has a carrier with a top side and a bottom side, whereby a first contact surface and a second contact surface are formed on the top side, and the first contact surface is spaced apart from the second contact surface and the contact surfaces are metallically conductive and the back side of the semiconductor body is non-positively connected to the top side of the carrier. The solar cell unit has a secondary optical element to guide light to the front side of the semiconductor body, whereby the secondary optical element has a bottom side and the bottom side is non-positively connected to the front side of the semiconductor body.

An apparatus for generating electricity with the ability to distill a liquid and/or expand a working fluid and/or produce mechanical energy and/or produce thermal energy and/or produce chemical transformations through separately utilizing light in the infrared (IR) region and light within the visible and ultraviolet (UV) regions. The apparatus uses methods to capture diffuse and direct polychromatic light, concentration and multiplication of that light up to 1000 times or more, collimation of light, separation of the spectrum into the IR and UV/visible bands, generation of electricity through conversion of at least UV/visible light, and useful conversion of infrared light into applications to generate a distilled liquid or compound, expand a working fluid, produce mechanical energy, produce thermal energy, produce chemical energy and/or generate additional electricity. Non-reflected radiant energy may be used to operate a suitable photovoltaic cell or stack of cells. In alternative embodiments, the spectral separator may reflect most radiant energy incident upon it to one or more photovoltaic cells and pass infrared to an accumulator for use as heat energy to generate mechanical or chemical energy or generate further electrical energy.

A double layered superimposed and parallel solar panels having an optical system comprising cylindrical rods and convex lenses at either end of said rods. Said optical rods are centrally longitudinally and transversely inserted in the upper panel through slits where sunlight rays pass and diffract through said rods and widely diffuse over the entire surface of the lower solar panel. A plurality of optical rods may be used thereby increasing the light transmission to the lower solar panel. The present invention significantly reduces the surface needed to install conventional residential as well as commercial solar panels.