National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) said it had installed a high-concentration photovoltaic system with an output of 5kw and an advanced sun-tracking unit, which is said to be the first of its kind in Taiwan, officials at the Tainan-based university said yesterday.
The university said the solar power system can increase the concentration of sunlight 476 times and convert as much as 30 percent of sunlight received into electricity.
Yang Hong-tzer (楊宏澤), project leader and a professor at the university’s Department of Electrical Engineering, said that high-concentration solar cells are the new trend in photovoltaic power conversion because they work like conventional versions, albeit more efficiently, at lower cost and in smaller sizes.
The system — designed by university researchers and manufactured by Hsinchu’s Spirox Corp — is also equipped with a high-sensitivity sun tracker that allows optimal use of direct sunlight.
Yang said the NCKU-Spirox system was the first in Taiwan to be equipped with two-axis adjustment capability, which allows the solar panels to move in two directions to better receive the sunlight.
The university said a miniature model of the system, with 1.5kw output, was first installed at the Spirox headquarters in September. The 5kw version was installed at the university campus to expand the scale of the test run, it said.
University officials said the 5kw system was now fully operational and would provide the campus with “clean” energy.
A commercial version with greater output could soon enter the market, the university said.
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