News

27 April 2009

 

SolFocus opens expanded Mesa Glassworks factory

Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system maker SolFocus Inc of Mountain View, CA, USA says that it has opened its expanded solar glass reflector manufacturing factory in Mesa, AZ.

The firm opened its first glass-manufacturing plant in Mesa in December 2007 with 50 staff, producing 45,000 mirrors for development projects in 2008). The second plant, in the same industrial park, will allow a move into commercial production.

The proprietary, convex mirrors are a critical component within the SolFocus CPV system design, which uses gallium arsenide-based solar cells. As part of a full CPV system, the mirrors concentrate the sun’s rays 500 times onto a solar cell, enabling the system to produce solar power with panel conversion efficiency levels of 25%.

With over a 175% increase in manufacturing floor space and a new line of manufacturing equipment, the new Glassworks facility will have the capacity to produce 2 million concentrating reflectors annually for 30MW of solar power generation – more than 15 times the plant’s capacity in 2008. The firm now has about 100 staff in Mesa and plans to expand to 150 by the end of 2009 on ramping up to full production.

SolFocus says that it plans to utilize the 30% manufacturing investment tax credit, as set forth in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which can provide funds for investment in solar energy generation technology. “In addition to providing green collar jobs in the factory, Mesa is positioned to create additional long-term, high-skilled jobs, through the deployment, operation and maintenance of solar installations, which is expected to create approximately 80-90 working man-years for each megawatt of solar energy put into operation," says Jason Ellsworth, VP & general manager of the Glassworks facility.

SolFocus says that the demand that drove this expansion signals the transition of CPV from the R&D stage to commercialization. “The 30MW of product enabled by this factory will allow us to meet the rising demand for CPV technology,” says president & CEO Mark Crowley. “Government bodies, utilities and large-scale commercial operations are quickly recognizing that CPV can deliver three times the efficiency of traditional solar systems with lower land use. With more than $150bn of stimulus money available for clean energy projects worldwide, competition for available product supply will be tight, so the time to act is now,” he adds.

See related items:

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SolFocus raises $47.5m to commercialize CPVs

SolFocus and Samaras to develop first commercial CPV project in Greece

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Visit: www.solfocus.com