Solar Concentration of 50,000 Achieved With Output Power Approaching 1 kW

Abstract

We have achieved a 50,000 ± 3,000 times concentration of sunlight using a unique dielectric nonimaging concentrator in an experiment performed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The scale of the experiment is several times larger than that of previous experiments. Total output power approaching 1 kW passes through a 4.6 mm diameter aperture. An extractor tip is added to the concentrator profile which allows measurement of flux levels using an air calorimeter. This new device has the potential to allow the use of dielectric concentrators at larger scale for thermal electric power generation. We report on the implications of this experiment for the future use of dielectric concentrators.