Arima and Emcore among CPV tender winners
Spain s Instituto de Sistemas Fotovoltaicos de Concentratión (ISFOC) has chosen four companies to install concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) systems that will provide a further 1.3 MW of power for a key demonstration project.
All four companies use multi-junction cells based on III-V semiconductors and germanium substrates as the key active element in their systems.
They include Emcore, itself one of only a handful of major III-V cell manufacturers, as well as Taiwan s Arima Eco, and two local Spanish firms.
Systems from New Mexico-based Emcore will provide 300 kW when installed, as will those from Concentración Solar La Mancha and Arima Eco. Sol3G, a company based in Cerdanyola, Spain, is set to supply systems capable of 400 kW power generation.
The latest awards follow the previous selection of Spain s Isofoton, Germany's Concentrix Solar and US-based SolFocus. Those three firms are due to install CPV systems to generate an initial 1.7 MW, and these should be operational next year.
Financed by the local regional government via the Instituto de Finanzas de Castilla La Mancha, ISFOC is emerging as a crucial test-bed for CPV based on III-V semiconductors. If successful, it could go a long way to convincing energy providers that CPV is a viable, reliable way to generate "clean" electrical power.
Other major CPV projects using III-V semiconductors include GreenVolts' "GV1" installation in Tracy, near San Francisco. The 2 MW facility will represent the most powerful single CPV installation in the world when it is completed (see related story).
• With terrestrial CPV emerging as a potentially large future market for III-V semiconductors, delegates at the Compound Semiconductor Key Conference will be able to find out about both the latest technological developments and the commercial prospects for this exciting technology.
In a session devoted to clean energy technologies, the conference features presentations from some of the key players in CPV "“ see the updated conference agenda for more details.
The Key Conference takes place on March 2-4 in Key West, Florida. To reserve your place at the event, click here.
