High performance reflector for solar collectors
Environmentalists dream of replacing power plants and their noxious fumes with fields of emission-free solar collectors. Flagsol GmbH and its partners made significant progress toward this goal during the INDITEP project. While solar power is without doubt preferable to fossil fuels in terms of environmental impact, it often fails when it comes to the cost comparison. To overcome this obstacle it is necessary to extract as much energy as possible per square metre of installation. Flagsol concentrated its efforts on the reflector, which focuses the incumbent sunlight on the absorber pipe. A 5mm glass prototype developed by Flagsol's engineers was subjected to a battery of tests on the laboratory bench as well as at the INDITEP installation in Guadix, Spain. The intercept factor, determined by INDITEP partner Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA) with specialised equipment, was higher than conventional reflectors. This result was corroborated by analysis of the Guadix data using statistical ray tracing code. The new reflector will contribute to raising the overall efficiency of parabolic solar collectors like those installed in Guadix, producing more energy at a lower cost. In addition, Flagsol also devised an innovative snap-on system for attaching the reflector to the parabolic structure.
