Performance of solar pond integrated with photovoltaic/thermal collectors

This article aims to propose and study a new system design for renewable energy called photovoltaic/ solar pond. This new system involves cooling the arrays of the photovoltaic/thermal collectors, which are installed beside the salinity gradient solar pond with a heat exchanger that is installed behind each solar cell. Thermal energy gained by the photovoltaic/thermal collectors was stored in the heat storage zone using a heat exchanger system. An experimental assessment was performed to examine the thermal performance of the mini PV/solar pond. The experiments were carried out for five months, starting from September 2019 and ending in January 2020, in Kirkuk, Iraq. During this period, temperature, salinity, and power generation were recorded in real-time. The experimental results confirmed that the maximum total efficiency value of the system was 37.67% which was recorded in September. Besides, the highest value of the daily thermal efficiency was 30% for September, while the ultimate value of the daily electrical efficiency was 9.357% as recorded in December. The current result agrees well with other experimental studies in the same field.