This 3rd International Workshop on Concentrating Pholtovoltaic Power Plants: Optical Design and Grid Connection aims at connecting project managers, engineers and physicists working on different design aspects of Concentrating Photovoltaic Power Plants. Bridging the gaps of knowledge by the exchange of academic research results and experiences in the field moves us closer to understanding the issues in the forerun of the first commercial concentrating photovoltaic power plants.

This two-day international workshop brings together selected academic and business professionals for intensive discussions in Bremerhaven, on the shore of the North Sea, Germany. The event is the third in a series focusing on the technical issues defining the future of concentrating photovoltaics (CPV). Held in Mar 2009 in Darmstadt, in Oct 2007 in Marburg, the meetings were each attended by 120 people from 20 countries, with lively discussions on CPV technology and approaches. The central themes of the present conference are at the core of CPV, optics and high-performance modules, and their production. We will debate the performance of advanced optical materials, in particular novel PMMA, and silicone varieties, in view of the implications on bankability.