Record deal for boosted solar panels

SolFocus, a maker of concentrator photovoltaic systems, has signed a $103 million (80 euro) deal with Empe Solar, a Spanish group that promotes solar energy use.

SolFocus panels, made of mostly aluminum and glass, are 95 percent recyclable.

(Credit: SolFocus)

Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems typically use lenses and mirrors to concentrate light on solar cells to maximize the amount of electricity they can generate.

SolFocus plans to install over 10 megawatts of CPV systems across southern Spain for Empe Solar between now and 2010 as part of the deal.

SolFocus has already completed three utility-scale projects in Spain.

The 10-megawatt installation would collectively generate enough energy to supply a town of 40,000 residents, and eliminate 27,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year if used to replace traditional fossil fuel energy generators.

It's the largest deployment of concentrator photovoltaic solar energy systems in Europe so far, according to a joint statement from SolFocus and Empe Solar.

Sunny Spain is to be the recipient of $103 million worth of CPV systems between now and 2010.

(Credit: SolFocus)

"Empe Solar seeks only the most innovative solutions to reduce electricity production costs for our customers. SolFocus has proven its technology's value in our region, and we are confident it will enable us to quickly achieve our cost targets for carbon-free energy," Empe Solar partners Eduardo Goicoechea and Sebastian Sagues said in a joint statement.

The other claim to fame SolFocus makes is that its CPV systems themselves, which primarily consist of aluminum and glass components, are kind to the environment since they are 95 percent recyclable.

But SolFocus is not the only company touting good news Monday for solar technology. Cool Earth Solar announced earlier it's rolling out its solar balloon prototypes over the next two weeks.

[urshethalor]

This is a good move by Spain. There is also a lot of other infrastructure that needs to be built: for example the manufacturing of refined silicon needs to be significantly increased in order to service both the chip industry and the solar power industry. That's no small amount of investment required.

(detail, not a criticism): Units: 27,000 tons of C02 over what amount of time? Per month? Per year? Over the lifetime of the panels?

[candacelombardi]

Both constructive criticism and requests for more details are always welcome.
To answer your question, that would be 27,000 tons of CO2 in the first year alone. I've updated the story to reflect that.

[KSman01]

That is 250 watts of peak power per person, more like a enough power to run a 60 watt bulb 24 hours per day.

The investment is around $US 2500 per person. That is not enough to run a house on solar power.

Should the 40,000 town be a 4,000 residence town?

[candacelombardi]

Thanks for your interest.

"The 10-megawatt installation would collectively generate enough energy to supply a town of 40,000 residents" not residences. The average Spanish household also consumes significantly less power that the average U.S. household.