Focusing on Solar's Cost

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Thu, 2008-05-08 06:00.

Tyler Hamilton at Technology Review - a Hollywood-based startup, Sunrgi Solar Energy Systems, has created a concentrated photovoltaic module that they expect to be able to produce electricity at a price competitive with fossil-fuel generation. Hope it works. [gsc]

Quote:
Sunrgi, which emerged out of stealth mode last week, has created a concentrated photovoltaic system that uses a lens to focus sunlight up to 2,000 times onto tiny solar cells that can convert 37.5 percent of the sun's energy into electricity. Stronger concentrations of sunlight allow engineers to use much smaller solar cells, making it more economical to use higher-efficiency--but higher-cost--cells. Sunrgi, for example, will use cells based on gallium arsenside and germanium substrates.

...

Sunrgi estimates that its system will be capable of producing electricity at a wholesale cost of five cents per kilowatt-hour. Prototypes have been built and tested both in the laboratory and in the field, and the company expects to start commercial production in 12 to 15 months...

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