Assessment of durability and accelerated aging methodology of solar reflectors

Abstract The degradation of optical surfaces can be very cost-intensive. For example, an annual degradation rate of 0.3% (pp) in specular reflectance of the used reflectors in a 200 MW el power plant with an annual capacity factor of 40% may account for a loss up to 88 million US$ per year. Therefore the proper assessment of durability of key components is crucial to minimize the investment risk. This chapter gives an overview on the used standards for accelerated aging testing of solar reflectors. Analysis methods of degradation processes are described and a methodology to estimate the expected service life-time based on accelerated test results is presented.