Patent ID: 8742250

Claim:
A stationary sunlight redirecting system for increasing the efficiency of a fixed-tilt PV farm, the fixed-tilt PV farm including a plurality of PV panel assemblies, each PV panel assembly including a plurality of solar cells arranged in a substantially planar array between a corresponding upper horizontal edge and a corresponding lower horizontal edge such that the solar cells form an active region that is parallel to the substantially planar array, the planar array of the plurality of PV panel assemblies being maintained in an inclined angle relative to ground, wherein each adjacent pair of said PV panel assemblies is disposed at a predetermined spacing such that a prismatic volume is defined between each adjacent pair of said PV panel assemblies, each prismatic volume being disposed below an upper plane extending between the upper horizontal edge of a first PV panel assembly of said adjacent pair and the lower horizontal edge of a second PV panel assembly of said adjacent pair, wherein the sunlight redirecting system comprises: a sunlight redirecting element including a base and a plurality of substantially identical redirecting structures uniformly arranged and fixedly disposed on the base, each redirecting structure including a plurality of corresponding parallel elongated optical surface regions fixedly oriented substantially parallel with the upper horizontal edge of said PV panel assembly and disposed such that sunlight is redirected along substantially identical diverging paths such that the redirected sunlight is directed away from said sunlight redirecting element in a substantially homogenous pattern; and means for securing the sunlight redirecting element in said prismatic volume between said first PV panel assembly and said second PV panel assembly such that the redirected sunlight is directed onto the active region formed by the plurality of solar cells disposed on the second PV panel assembly.