Application of spectral beam splitting using Wavelength-Selective filters for Photovoltaic/Concentrated solar power hybrid plants

To maximize the utilization of solar energy, this study focuses on the investigation of a realistic performance of a photovoltaic/concentrated solar power hybrid using a developed wavelength-selective filter. The hybrid system is proposed for the modification and improvement of the performance of the currently operating solar electric generating station VI parabolic trough plant in California, USA. In the hybrid, photovoltaic system converts only the useful wavelengths after the splitting of the solar irradiance by the wavelength-selective filter, and the concentrated solar power uses the remaining wavelengths. Most relevant studies presented the hybrid performance using hypothetical filters instead of realization. Even studies utilizing realized filters have only used annual mean values to assess hybrid performance. Due to the intrinsic properties in real filters, the hybrid performance can be varied accordingly throughout the day and year. As a result, by presenting annual performance based on the measured optical properties of a real filter, this study intends to address this research gap. According to the findings, the proposed hybrid performed 9% better than the solar electric generating station VI concentrated solar power. The hybrid system was also 4% more efficient than the virtual photovoltaic-alone system. The proposed hybrid’s Levelized Cost of Electricity is 9% lower than the solar electric generating station VI concentrated solar power. Even if the proposed filter accounts for 18.4% annual optical loss from the incident solar power, the proposed hybrid is still very promising for retrofitting and enhancing aged concentrated solar power plants.