10 sun concentrating collectors have reached 38% efficiecy in NREL testing. triple the power output per area of collector with 1/10nth the silicon, that is a winning combination if it can be done practcally. From Grist:
As Eiref points out the features of the Skyline system, the troughs—each platform holds two—slowly rotate to follow the sun, the solar arrays glowing as the light strikes the deep-blue modules. It’s relatively low tech, and the system only produces a ten-fold concentration of the sun on the solar arrays.
The tradeoff, however, is lower materials cost. Skyline is using standard photovoltaic cells cut into quarters. One technological innovation is a patented crinkled metal heat sink that backs each photovoltaic array. Solar cells get hot, naturally, and the resulting heat cuts into their efficiency.
There is a better way, that adds cogeneration for water heating and mounts behind windows, or under glazing mounted on a roof. This needs minmal tracking and can be further enganced with solar tracking mirrors reflecting extra solar power on the collector. The flexibility makes it perfect for mass production out of sheet metal and heat tolerant plastic.