Thermal Performance of the SunPower Alpha-2 PV Concentrator

Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems typically rely on passive airflow and a low thermal resistance cell package to maintain safe and reliable cell operating temperatures. Due to the high variability of outdoor ambient temperatures, wind conditions, and irradiance values, it is important to validate operating temperatures in a realistic field setting. This study focuses on a full thermal characterization of the 7x geometric SunPower Alpha-2 CPV system as well as a side-by-side thermal comparison with SunPower standard (E19) high-efficiency photovoltaic modules mounted to the same rotational axis.