25% Efficiency: SolFocus Introduces New Concentrating Solar PV Product
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY 
on 11.14.08
photo: SolFocus
While its previous concentrating solar PV products convert about 18% of the light hitting them into electricity, the new SolFocus 1100S can achieve a panel efficiency of 25%. Intended for use in medium to utility-scale installations, the panels will be used by Spain's EMPE Solar in the recently announced 10 MW ‘world’s largest’ CPV project, expected to be completed in 2010.
Here’s how SolFocus touts the 1100S:
Reflectors Concentrate Sunlight 500 Times
The SolFocus 1100S system combines high-efficiency solar cells (approaching 40%) and advanced optics to provide energy solutions which are scalable, dependable and capable of delivering on the promise of low-cost, clean, renewable energy. The company’s 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 are over twice as efficient as traditional silicon cells, accelerating 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 technology has been developed specifically for integration with SolFocus’ 1100S panels, providing a highly integrated and performance-optimized system. The tracking capability of the SolFocus 1100S results in energy generation ideally matched to peak demand periods.
More from SolFocus via Greentech Media
Concentrating Solar Photovoltaics
World’s Largest Concentrating Solar PV Project Announced by SolFocus
Concentrator Solar Photovoltaic Power as a Quarter the Cost: Morgan Solar Sun Simba HCPV
One Small Step For Concentrator Photovoltaics, One Bigger Step for SolFocus
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This is from SolFocus's website:
"The largest portion of the SolFocus systems is glass and aluminum which are readily available and have proven field durability. The result is solar energy systems which are cost-efficient, reliable and scalable globally to gigawatts of energy production."
So essentially you could take glass and aluminum from the world's landfills and junkyards and make ultra-cheap panels. Cool.
Coool looks, that's for sure.
However, efficiencies of 25% and more a regularly achieved by non-concentrating PV, so I'm not very impressed there, but the real question is:
what's the price/Wp ? (including the cost of the indispensibkle tracker please)
That is the only relevant factor in a post Si-constrained world. Btw: thin film is flirting with €2/Wp.
Congratulations For SolFocus.