CONCENTRATING SOLAR ENERGY COLLECTOR

摘要

Systems, methods, and apparatus by which solar energy may be collected to provide electricity, heat, or a combination of heat and electricity are disclosed herein.

主权项

1. A concentrating solar energy collector comprising:
a linearly elongated reflector having a linear focus; a linearly elongated receiver oriented parallel to and located at or approximately at the linear focus of the reflector and fixed in position with respect to the reflector; and a support structure supporting the reflector and the receiver and pivotally mounted to accommodate rotation of the support structure, the reflector, and the receiver about a rotation axis parallel to the linear focus of the reflector; wherein the receiver comprises solar cells that, in operation of the concentrating solar energy collector, are illuminated by solar radiation concentrated by the reflector onto the receiver; wherein the reflector comprises a plurality of linearly elongated reflective elements each having a long axis, and the linearly elongated reflective elements are arranged on and attached to a sheet of metal in two or more parallel side-by-side rows with the long axes of the linearly elongated reflective elements and the rows oriented parallel to the linear focus of the reflector, the sheet of metal providing longitudinal support parallel to the rotation axis along the length of the linearly elongated reflective elements; and wherein each row of linearly elongated reflective elements includes two or more of the linearly elongated reflective elements arranged end-to-end such that gaps or joints between the linearly elongated reflective elements in each row are not next to gaps or joints between linearly elongated reflective elements in an adjacent row.