Construction And Start-up of the 3M/Austin Concentrating Protovoltaic Plant

A 300-kilowatt concentrating photovoltaic plant has been constructed at the 3M Center in Austin, Texas through a unique public/private partnership. The plant installation has provided all partners with valuable experience that will help further the development of concentrating photovoltaic (PV) systems. In addition, the 3M Company and the City of Austin, the plant owners, will realize energy cost savings and gain hands-on experience with operating and maintaining a PV plant. The paper provides discussion of the features of the PV plant, and describes the construction process, and suggestions for future installations are offered. The project has shown that with proper coordination, public/private partnerships can be valuable mechanisms for developing new technologies and for sharing the risks involved in building demonstration plants.