Design and build of an electrical generator and load control system for a novel small-scale hybrid solar thermal collector

The primary goal of this research was to design the electrical generation and control system for a small-scale solar-thermal collector, which was optimized for the Pacific Northwest. The project team collected data on the existing solar-thermal system and worked to design a power conversion system to generate electricity. Design and implementation of the generator, prime mover, and electric load controller are discussed in the paper.