Concentrix Solar

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Concentrix Solar GmbH was a German solar power company based in Freiburg, Germany, that specialized in developing and commercializing concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) technology. In December 2009, Concentrix Solar was acquired by the French Soitec Group. [1] In January 2015, Soitec announced its intention to exit from the CPV business, citing a lack of sales due to competition from lower-cost conventional photovoltaics. [2] [3] An agreed sale of the business to Chinese firm ConcenSolar (an entity having ties with Suncore Photovoltaics) in May 2015 was not completed. [4] [5] In January 2017, the technology and manufacturing assets were acquired by Saint-Augustin Canada Electric (a former General Electric subsidiary). [6]

Contents

History

Concentrix Solar was founded in 2005, as a spin-off company of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. Concentrix Solar builds large concentrator solar power plants suitable for sunny areas. [7] In 2007, Concentrix Solar was awarded the Innovation Award of the German Economy for its CPV technology. [8] From February 2006 to December 2009, the investment company Good Energies was invested in Concentrix Solar. [9] Abengoa Solar was an investor of Concentrix Solar from November 2007 to December 2009. [10]

Technology development

Concentrix concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) modules bundle sunlight up to 500 times with the use of Fresnel lenses and focus it on III-V based triple-junction solar cells (GaInP/GaInAs/Ge), [11] which then convert the light into electrical energy. [12] To ensure that the sunlight is concentrated precisely on the solar cell the CPV modules are installed on a two-axis sun tracking system. [13] With its technology, Concentrix Solar achieves a module efficiency of 27%. [14]

Technology commercialization

Concentrix's tracker and CPV module technologies have been installed in 28 countries worldwide. [15] The largest installation is the 44  MWp (36  MWAC) CPV1 generator completed in 2014 and located near Touws River, South Africa. [16] As of 2019, it is the second largest CPV power station in the world. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Questa Solar Facility is a 1.17 MWp (1.0 MWAC) concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) power station in Questa, New Mexico. Upon its completion in late 2010, it was one of the largest CPV facilities in the world, and the first utility-scale installation of Concentrix Solar technology in the United States. Annual electricity production is expected to average about 2.1 GW·h, and is being sold to the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

Golmud CPV Solar Park is a 138 MWp (~110 MWAC) concentrator photovoltaics power station located near Golmud City in Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. It is the largest operating CPV facility in the world, and was constructed in two phases by Suncore Photovoltaics starting in 2012. It is situated at an elevation of about 2,800 meters (9,200 ft) on the Tibetan plateau near the Gobi Desert with several other conventional photovoltaic power stations.

The Desert Green Solar Farm is a 8.8 MWp (6.3 MWAC) concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) power station in Borrego Springs, California. It was built by Blattner Energy using 299 dual-axis CX-S530 systems, each of which contains 12 CX-M500 modules. Each module contains 2,400 Fresnel lenses to concentrate sunlight 500 times onto multi-junction solar cells, allowing a greater efficiency than other photovoltaic power plants. The output is being sold to San Diego Gas & Electric under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement.

References

  1. ↑ "Soitec expands into the fast growing solar energy market with the acquisition [sic] of Concentrix Solar". Archived from the original on 2010-03-01. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
  2. ↑ "Soitec To Give Up on Solar CPV". Renewable Energy World. 2015-01-20. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  3. ↑ "CPV Hopeful Soitec Exits the Solar Business". Green Tech Media. 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  4. ↑ "Soitec Divests its Solar Business to Refocus on its Core Semiconductor Activities" (PDF). Soitec. 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  5. ↑ "Soitec announces the end of negotiations with Concensolar regarding a sale of solar assets and continues its refocus on electronics". Financial Times. 2015-08-05. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  6. ↑ "Saint-Augustin Canada Electric Inc.(STACE) acquires Soitec solar CPV technology". STACE. 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  7. ↑ "Concentrix Solar: Company". Archived from the original on 2008-12-25. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  8. ↑ "Innovationspreis der Deutschen Wirtschaft" . Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  9. ↑ "Investment Portfolio – Good Energies". Archived from the original on 2008-09-18. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  10. ↑ "Concentrix Solar: Combining existing expertise for new energy". Archived from the original on 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  11. ↑ "Concentrix Solar: High Performance Cells". Archived from the original on 2010-07-10. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  12. ↑ "Innovationspreis der Deutschen Wirtschaft 2007 Finalisten". Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  13. ↑ "Concentrix Solar: Tracking System". Archived from the original on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  14. ↑ "Concentrix Solar: Concentrator Modules". Archived from the original on 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  15. ↑ "Solar Energy - Soitec CPV Installations - 2014". Soitec. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  16. ↑ "Projects: Touwsrivier". cpvconsortium.org. Archived from the original on 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  17. ↑ "List of Project Capacities". cpvconsortium.org. Archived from the original on 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
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