Optimal Design and Control of Optofluidic Solar Steerers and Concentrators

Solar energy is mostly harvested by means of photovoltaic (PV) or concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) solar cells. The efficiency of CPV is higher (at least twice) than the traditional PV but significantly more expensive. To reduce costs, optical condensers (e.g., a Fresnel lens) to concentrate solar light on each CPV cell are used. Moreover, since the energy production is maximized when the panels are perpendicular to the light beam, mechanical tracking systems that move the array of solar panels based on the position of the sun. But these tracking system increases costs, requires power and are error-prone. The goal of this project is the optimal design and control of steerers and concentrators for PV or CPV using electrowetting (EW) and electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD).