Installation, Operation, and Performance of the Amonix High Concentration Photovoltaic System at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

This paper discusses the installation and operation of the Amonix High Concentration Photovoltaic System at the Center for Energy Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). This includes the analysis performed to select of the foundation site location, drilling the foundation, installation of the foundation and pedestal, installation of the drive system, and installation of the concentrating photovoltaic modules. The day-to-day operation of the unit is described including an example of the generated power throughout the day. A summary is presented of the performance of the unit since the start of operation in March of 2004. This includes an example of the daily-generated electrical energy for a month, the monthly-generated energy since the start of the program, the total generated energy, the generating time, the peak power, etc. The result of an analysis of the power and energy generated is given that indicates the system performance has not decreased during this period of operation. Operating reliability data of the unit is presented for the system, subsystems, and major component level.