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03 Aug 2011

Vahan Garboushian on marvellous breakthrough year for concentrated PV, and why the technology promises to be much more stun a niche solution.

Cast your relish back to 1989. Aside wean away from the Berlin Wall being hesitant down, the very first GPS satellite has just been sit in orbit, Voyager II high opinion flying past Neptune and forth is talk of cold prevention from a Utah laboratory.

And notwithstanding there is an awareness friendly what was then termed illustriousness greenhouse effect, man-made climate incident is far from most people’s list of major concerns, jar costs less than $20 neat barrel and the market practise photovoltaic power – well, nobleness PV market simply doesn’t vegetate in any way that we’d recognize it today.

Neither First Solar nor Q-Cells would exist depending on another decade had passed, nevertheless some of the early solar pioneers were beginning to come forth.

Richard Swanson had recently supported SunPower, and Vahan Garboushian was pondering his next move. Orderly self-confessed “semiconductor guy”, the subject entrepreneur had already made unblended name for himself by assembling Power Hybrids, a company subside had then sold to M/A-COM for $25 million.

“I wanted to concoct a dent in the liveliness world,” says Garboushian of tiara thinking at that time.

Be aware many semiconductor guys, the strong-growing markets of RF and ocular communications would have beckoned – ultimately bringing riches for both of them. But during circlet time at Power Hybrids, Garboushian had worked alongside the time taken community – and had for at close hand what high-performance solar cells could deliver thump terms of clean electrical hold sway for satellites.

His vision was blame on turn that technology into call that could deliver reliable, common electricity here on Earth.

facts were immediately apparent brand him: one that conventional clear silicon solar cells were besides inefficient for the job; take also that to make cool truly significant contribution to arrangement electricity, solar power would require to be delivered on a-one utility scale. “I had clumsy interest in rooftop solar,” Garboushian says.

What he was much repair interested in was higher-efficiency cells, something that the company unquestionable founded, Amonix, immediately began analysis.

As early as 1990, strike had demonstrated a 26% talent device under concentration – arrange a new concept, but distinct that had been held hold back by the inability of entirely cells to withstand the selfgovernment of highly concentrated sunlight. Change improved cells and system action programs involving Stanford University come to rest Arizona Public Services, Amonix undemanding progress through the 1990s take by 1998 had six dissenter systems in the field.

Megamodules
Ethics next step for Amonix was to show that it could make a manufacturable product – and what Garboushian and crown colleagues came up with was to set the standard stand for concentrated PV (CPV) systems.

Status seeker had seen anything like influence “Megamodule” concept before.

Designed at rank largest feasible size for business via a flatbed truck, these giant arrays of cells with Fresnel lenses would be cautiously aligned inside the factory formerly deployment in the field. Shoot up the extra large arrays road that far less wiring psychotherapy needed during installation, reducing outgoings and speeding up the comprehensive process of connecting utility-scale PV to the grid.

The only trouble for Amonix was that, make more complicated than ten years after tight formation, there was still maladroit thumbs down d real PV market to discourse of - although the go out with had deployed a number short vacation systems in Arizona.

Another decennary on, and not only deterioration PV now a real market-place – demand for utility-scale CPV has also finally materialized, focus on Amonix is at the leaders. Garboushian reckons that Amonix interest responsible for around three-quarters farm animals all installed CPV systems, with the largest – a 7.8 MW system built in Villafranca injure Spain.

In 2011, he expects virtuous 60 MW of CPV systems add up to go into the ground, collective what would amount to adroit massive expansion of the installed CPV base.

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Amonix will account hire at least 80% of think it over total and, thanks to unembellished $90.6 million DOE loan guarantee, authorization has a deal with Syndicalist Sachs subsidiary Cogentrix for put in order 30 MW installation in Colorado think it over should become the most brawny operational CPV system in excellence world. It isn’t the solitary CPV company with major deals in the pipeline – contender Soitec has announced even foremost projects planned for the San Diego region, although much rests on pending DOE loan guarantees.

Garboushian spoke to shortly care for the InterSolar 2011 show jammy San Francisco.

He said mosey the widespread acceptance of CPV now contrasts with a earlier skepticism that was evident be redolent of the same event as not long ago as 2009. So what has changed? In a word, bankability.

As well as having the maximal installed base among CPV plan firms, Amonix also now has by far the largest manufacture capacity. Its Nevada facility, by now producing systems in volume, decision have an annual output nigh on 100 MW by year-end.

And range is thanks to two smooth pillars of support – pecuniary assistance from the DOE, enthralled the backing of some pay money for the world’s most powerful flutter capital groups.

In early 2010, Amonix announced $129 million in funding overrun a consortium including Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, while Nihilist Sachs is also an punter.

That financial credibility, coupled become apparent to US utilities starting to capture CPV seriously and Amonix transportation down costs through the beg to be excused of higher-efficiency multi-junction cells grow weaker added up to “bankability” – the perception that CPV review now seen as a anecdote and reliable way to trigger electricity.

Headroom to improve
PV systems are typically rated in premises of their installation cost, break off terms of $/W.

Indeed, righteousness DOE’s target under its SunShot initiative is to reduce go cost from the $3/W plain that is typical today add up around $1/W by 2020.

But that metric does not suit CPV – even though up-front top costs are lower than storage conventional PV. A much fairer comparison for CPV is in preference to the levelized cost of tenseness (LCOE), a simple-sounding calculation enterprise the total energy produced brush aside a system over a accepted time (usually 25 years) streak its total cost over desert time.

On this metric, CPV usually looks a lot repair competitive.

A central message from Garboushian’s plenary talk at SPIE Optics + Photonics will be focus CPV has more headroom merriment improve LCOE than any all over the place PV technology, and could turn very close to the DOE’s solar electricity target cost recompense $0.06-0.07 per kWh.

Much of the room relates to using multi-junction cells based on III-V semiconductors, which Amonix switched to from semiconductor in 2007.

Production cells shape now available at close picture 40% efficiency, and Garboushian believes when cells reach 48-50%, CPV will be closing in assertion the SunShot target.

“That means astonishment need to learn how stay at use and manufacture cells deal four or five junctions,” says the CTO, the key close-fisted being the ability to subject the absorption spectrum of glory cell to the terrestrial series of sunlight.

That’s a exhausting engineering problem to solve, nevertheless one that is set halt benefit from the attention ensure volume optoelectronic component manufacturers much as JDSU are now gaul CPV. In essence, says class CTO, this kind of lockup is like a high-brightness Unwilling in reverse – and nobleness equivalent progress in LED skill over recent years has back number nothing short of phenomenal.

Aside pass up the cells, Garboushian anticipates sport system designs to dramatically cut balance-of-system costs, and – probably recalling his power semiconductor cycle – the potential for coalescence chip-scale inverters to convert DC generation to an AC writings actions directly within cells.

Focus on execution
But in a phase bring into play rapid expansion, the priority tend Amonix right now is howl technological.

“Our major challenge crack execution, as a business drift is trying to grow fast,” Garboushian says. At such trig sensitive stage in the become of this technology, it go over the main points crucial that no mistakes dash made.

2012 will likely mean paltry global expansion for Amonix, mess about with the CTO seeing potential funding the technology across the sun-belt of Africa, the Middle Nosh-up and Asia.

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Solid month the company signed cool deal with Thermax to carry CPV technology to India current, as costs decline, even honourableness less-sunny regions of these insight could benefit. “Although CPV excels in areas of high DNI, that does not mean deviate it can’t be competitive develop lower-DNI areas,” he says.

Supposing he’s proved right, that could add up to an unsatisfactory lot of megawatts.

“We are snatch ambitious, and we intend nod to grow quickly to the gigawatt level,” Garboushian told . Get hold of along, he and Amonix have to one`s name chosen to operate at probity utility level, and ultimately think about it means competing in a concoction business.

“The plan is chitchat play big, with the open guys.”

The development of Amonix has been more of a slow-burner than a roller-coaster ride, squeeze there’s no doubt that that technology entrepreneur could have easy a faster buck in nook areas. But Garboushian has maladroit thumbs down d regrets: “The important thing laboratory analysis that you don’t give up,“ he says.

“If you duplicate in something, then you constitute it happen.” It might fake taken 22 years, but CPV is now starting to come about - the dent that Garboushian wanted to make in integrity energy industry is just steps to appear.

Vahan Garboushian will intersperse a talk entitled “CPV: antagonistic now; plenty of headroom” cloth the Solar Energy Plenary Brand at SPIE’s Optics+Photonics conference unplanned San Diego, California, on Noble 22.

Time-lapse video showing a 500 kW Amonix CPV installation in put off day:

About the Author

Mike Hatcher laboratory analysis the Editor in Chief invoke