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Emcore Corporation has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding for the supply of between 200 and 700 megawatts (MW) of solar power systems, scheduled for deployment in utility scale solar power projects under development in the southwestern region of the United States.
The use of our gallium arsenide based multi-junction solar cells has the added advantage of retaining high efficiency even in the hot summers in the desert southwest. Emcore is committed to continuous improvement on the performance of terrestrial solar cells and the cost structure of the CPV system."
--Earl Fuller, VP Solar Power Systems Division, Emcore
Emcore will supply and install turnkey concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems developed at its Albuquerque, New Mexico facility. The project developer, SunPeak Solar, is securing land and grid access throughout 2008 and project construction is expected to begin in early 2009. This agreement is not expected to contribute revenues until 2009 and is dependant on the renewal of the federal investment tax credit (ITC) extending into 2009 and beyond.
"Emcore's CPV systems are optimized for the lowest cost-per-watt of any utility-scale photovoltaic power system. The use of our gallium arsenide based multi-junction solar cells has the added advantage of retaining high efficiency even in the hot summers in the desert southwest. Emcore is committed to continuous improvement on the performance of terrestrial solar cells and the cost structure of the CPV system," said Earl Fuller, VP of Emcore's Solar Power Systems division.
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It depends. They are aimed at different applications. FSLR is flat panel, for rooftops and such. They are the first mass-produced thin film PV and have a permanent cost advantage over traditional panels which use silicon wafers. The real competition for FSLR will come from other thin-film innovators, such as Nanosolar.
CPV systems like Emcore's use tracking mirrors or lenses. They use small amounts of exotic multi-junction cells to achieve high efficiency. Most of the cost is in the mirrors and motors, so cell cost is not an issue as with flat panel. Concentrators don't work well in cloudy weather, and tracking motors need maintenance, so CPV is typically deployed in huge, desert installations. Competition for Emcore includes just about anyone who makes tracking systems and can buy exotic cells from SpectroLab and others. CSP (Ausra, Stirling Energy Systems, etc.) also compete.
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