SolFocus has announced an agreement with Concept, a division of the Samaras Group, to jointly develop the first commercial installation of Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) solar technology in the country of Greece. As part of the deployment, SolFocus will expand its Madrid-based European operations to open a subsidiary in Greece.
Spanning multiple sites, the deployment will have the capacity to produce 1.6 megawatts (MW) of power using the SolFocus 1100S system. The newly-released 1100S achieves unprecedented panel efficiencies of 25 percent, offering the highest energy yield of PV systems available today. The installation will begin in the spring of 2009 with the first delivery of power expected in the summer.
“We view this groundbreaking project as the beginning of a promising collaboration with SolFocus,” said Dimitrios Samaras, president, Samaras Group. “As two pioneering companies, we will introduce the unrivaled efficiency of CPV solar technology to Greece and other regions in Southern Europe.”
In the first year of production, the system will have the capability to meet energy demands for a small town with approximately 2,500 residents while preventing the release of 2,800 tons of carbon dioxide.
“As a respected developer of renewable energy, the Samaras Group has high expectations for technical performance. The group’s selection of the new SolFocus system validates the real-world performance, efficiency and scalability of our technology,” said Mark Crowley, president, SolFocus.
“Our partnership will enable SolFocus to expand into the lucrative Greek market, which is boosted by favorable incentives and strong demand for electricity,” added Mr. Crowley. “We are extremely pleased to be taking this pioneering step with the Samaras Group who is well-known for advancing innovative technologies.”
The SolFocus CPV design employs a system of reflective optics to concentrate sunlight 500 times onto small, highly efficient solar cells. The SolFocus 1100S uses approximately 1/1,000th of the active, expensive solar cell material compared to traditional photovoltaic panels. In addition, the cells used in SolFocus CPV systems have over twice the efficiency of traditional silicon cells. In a solar-rich country like Greece, such efficiency can accelerate the trajectory for solar energy to reach cost parity with fossil fuels.
SolFocus integrates its CPV panels with its advanced tracking system that continuously aligns the solar array with direct sunlight throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky. The tracking capability of the SolFocus 1100S results in energy generation ideally matched to peak demand periods.
The project follows the announcement of a SolFocus project with EMPE Solar, which will deploy the same solar technology in a 10 MW installation. The project is expected to be the largest deployment of CPV technology in Europe.
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