TABLE II: COST BREAK-DOWN OF THE COLLECTOR UNIT

DESCRIPTION
COST/UNIT
UNITS
TOTAL COST
Field preparation 1.4 $/m² 600 m²
$ 840
Concrete foundation 350 $/m³ 4.3 m³
$ 1,505
Mirror 41 $/m² 180 m²
$ 7,380
Support beam 2.2 $/kg 1070 kg
$ 2,354
Support column 2.2 $/kg 870 kg
$ 1,914
Pedestal 3.5 $/kg 138 kg
$ 483
Bearing housing 12 $/kg 90 kg
$ 1,080
Moving frame 3.5 $/kg 246 kg
$ 861
Upper support member 3.5 $/kg 165 kg
$ 578
Shaft 8 $/kg 185 kg
$ 1,480
Crank 3.5 $/kg 72 kg
$ 252
Vertical arm 8 $/kg 48 kg
$ 384
Tracking rod 4 $/kg 15 kg
$ 60
Spring 6 $/kg 102 kg
$ 612
Sliding bar 12 $/kg 63 kg
$756
Driving mechanism 500 $/u 2 u
$ 1,000
Tracking bar 6.5 $/kg 134 kg
$ 871
Tracking control 650 $ 1 u
$ 650
On site installation 120 $/kWp 20 kWp
$ 2,400
TOTAL COST OF THE COLLECTOR UNIT:
$ 25,460
MIRRORS’ AREA: 180 m²
COST BY SQUARE METER OF MIRROR: 141 $/m²

 

The cost break-down of the receiver and the photovoltaic equipment is described in Table III. The dominant factor in these figures is the cost of the photovoltaic module and the heat sink.

The lowest cost route to manufacturing concentrator cells is to use modifications of one-sun cells. The laser-grooved buried-grid (LGBG) cell from BP Solar is the highest efficiency cell in multi-megawatt production. It forms a good basis for low-cost concentrator cells.

The commercial price of one-sun monocrystalline silicon cell modules is about 700 $/m². We estimate the construction of a 4.5 X concentrator module 50 % more expensive due to cell modifications and the incorporation of the heat sink.

These estimates do not include certain initial costs that might be incurred as part of the completion of initial engineering and design, that would be employed with future standardized PV power systems.

 

MORE INFORMATION:

PVC   -   MATERIAL SPECIFICATION   -   TABLE I   -   TABLE III