GreenVolts CarouSol debuts at Solar Power International 2008

[San Diego, California USA]

Can’t Photo (Touch) This!

As suggested in my Solar Power International 2008 Preview post, GreenVolts, Inc., did indeed display a CarouSol unit for the first time, and a sparse CarouSol datasheet is also available.

On Tuesday, October 14, 2008, right after the Expo opened at 10AM, I headed straight to the GreenVolts stand to check out their exhibit. I was not disappointed to see a crowd gawking at a complete GreenVolts CarouSol unit. Up close, my first photo was of the receiver unit. Perhaps because this was seen as aggressive, I was directed by a GreenVolts representative to not take photos! Even though I pointed out I was official, accredited Press, I got a nonsensical statement about the official Solar Power Expo photo policy. Referring to the Media Kit, I pointed out there was no such rule to waning attention. Please see Solar Power: Photos of GreenVolts, Sopogy, SkyFuel by Katie Fehrenbacher for another mention of this.

My official photo policy is to get the damn photos or videos. In addition to the Picasa slideshow above, here are two very unofficial videos of the CarouSol. I apologize in advance to anyone who did not realize they were being recorded. Please note this unit was static and the two-axis tracking function was not demonstated.

Perhaps the concern was regarding close up photos of the CarouSol underside like those in my second visit slideshow?

I didn't even think to look under the unit during my first visit. Perhaps I was distracted by the photo policy?

If you have noticed a drop in recent posting activity, I have been dealing with numerous personal and professional issues the past month or so. Expect my average two to three posts per week to resume this month. And email? Let's not talk about how far behind I am replying to Blog subscriber and reader emails.

GreenVolts at BIG Solar

[Menlo Park, California USA]

Berkeley-Stanford CleanTech Conference on “Utility Scale Solar Power Generation”

The 2nd Berkeley-Stanford CleanTech Conference, BIG Solar: “Utility Scale Solar Power Generation”, took place Wednesday afternoon, May 7, 2008, at SRI International. Although the agenda included keynotes and a first panel discussion on "California's Policy Leadership", my focus was on the second panel, "Innovations in Technology", with presentations by Blog stalwarts GreenVolts and Cool Earth Solar (CES).

For GreenVolts, I will highlight updates and deltas from GreenVolts presents at Alternative Energy Innovations 2007.

For the PG&E GV1 project, the 1MW (MegaWatt) Phase 1 is now scheduled for completion by the end of 2008, one quarter later than indicated in GreenVolts does it again with 2MW Solar Electric Plant deal with PG&E.

Bob Cart, founder and CEO of GreenVolts, Inc. said:

The first megawatt we’re actually manufacturing right now for deployment later on this year. This is a photograph of one of our test units. Actually, this is the first public time we’ve shown this.

Photo Credit: GreenVolts, Inc.

The above photo is of the “T6” or “six” CarouSol system under test at three sites. Optical concentration for the Off-Axis Microdish power units has been increased to 1000x. The two-axis CarouSol systems have succeeded in tracking with winds as high as 43mph (miles per hour) or 69.2kph (kilometers per hour).

GreenVolts has adopted LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy) as a metric for BIG Solar and projects $0.15/kWh (15 cents per kilowatt-hour) as the value of solar in 2010.

In a teaser, Mr. Cart said:

This is a project that we’ll be announcing at some point in the future we hope.

Please see the Picasa slideshow for additional photos and the respective slides from the presentation.

I arrived in San Diego last night, and I look forward to covering the 33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 33) this week.

ISFOC Awards 1.3MW of Concentrator PhotoVoltaic power plants

Concentración Solar La Mancha S.L., EMCORE Corp., Arima Eco, and Sol3g submitted the winning bids.

The ISFOC, Instituto de Sistemas Fotovoltaicos de Concentración S.A. or Institute of Concentration Photovoltaics Systems, Board of Directors awarded the 13 Concentrator PhotoVoltaic (CPV) pilot power plants at their last meeting. These awards complete the tender for the second phase of ISFOC’s 3MW (MegaWatt) CPV pilot plant program detailed in the previous post, ISFOC 1.3MW CPV Power Plant tenders made public. The terse ISFOC announcement is here.

Including two (2) Spanish firms, here are the 1.3MW award details:

Concentración Solar La Mancha S.L. (ES)	300kW
EMCORE Corp. (US)	300kW
Arima Eco (Taiwan)	300kW
Sol3g (ES)	400kW

The unsuccessful bidders included: Menova Energy (Canada), GreenVolts (US), Electricidad Alsanbo S.L. (ES), Infopyme Solar (ES), and SolFocus (US). The failure of the GreenVolts bid for a 200kW (kiloWatt) pilot power plant is notable. Perhaps the capacity was too small and the price per kilowatt was too high? SolFocus was awarded 500kW of CPV pilot power plants in the first phase.

Thanks to the folks at Sol3g, S.L. for bringing this ISFOC award to my attention. Earlier this month, Sol3g joined ASIF (http://www.asif.org/), Asociación de la Industria Fotovoltaica or Spanish Photovoltaic Industry Association, per the press release Sol3g becomes member of Asif.

Solar Light Flashes: November 15, 2007

Select Photovoltaic News Tidbits

The Solar Light Flashes format allows me to address news or observations that don’t require a full post.

Cool Earth Solar
Cool Earth Solar (CES, http://www.coolearthsolar.com) has revamped their website and is reshaping solar energy. I heard from CEO Rob Lamkin that CES Senior Team member, Dr. Aurelius Prochazka, co-author of RailsSpace: Building a Social Networking Website with Ruby on Rails, was involved with the implementation. Back on August 24, 2007, the press release, COOL EARTH SOLAR FILES PATENTS FOR SOLAR TECHNOLOGY, demonstrates CSE efforts to protect their Intellectual Property (IP). And Cool Earth Solar in the News was nice enough to link to my post, Cool Earth Solar emerges from Stealth Mode.

GreenVolts Inc.
On Tuesday, November 27, 2007, Kevin Fine, Director of Product Development, GreenVolts, will present Solar Energy Technologies: Emphasis on Concentrating Photovoltaic Technologies, at the California PUC (CPUC) Building, Golden Gate Room, 505 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, California USA, from Noon - 1:00 PM PST (Pacific Standard Time). This event is sponsored by the San Francisco Power Engineering Chapter of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.). Non-member cost and RSVP details are here.

RenewableEnergyAccess.com
As the Photovoltaic Blogger, reporting on the media is one of my easiest tasks. With rare exception, media never reports on the competition. While I jumped on the news of Intersolar North America 2008, RenewableEnergyAccess.com chose not to report on this significant new event but passed on this Industry Press Release, Record Early Sales of Solar Power 2008 Reflects Growth Trajectory of U.S. Solar Industry, post haste. Could it be because Solar Power 2008 is an advertiser and Media Partner?

RSI Silicon
I noticed RSI (Reaction Sciences Inc.) Silicon Products won the ICE 2007 Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation Competition during my research into Wakonda Technologies. Per the RSI Silicon website:

Dr. Steve Amendola, along with his experienced team, has commenced building the first plant. It is envisaged that production at the 5,000 metric tonne per annum plant based in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, will commence Q2 2008.

Also notable here is:

RSI will be using low cost raw materials for processing solar grade silicon and not the Metallurgical Grade Si

even though Northampton is in rust belt steel country. I can only presume they will use a precursor with Silicon as a component unless they have developed a Silicon Replicator technology?

Here is the RSI Silicon ICE 2007 PowerPoint presentation and top Ten Finalist video by Newfangler Productions.

SunPower Corporation
On October 22, 2007, SunPower announced SunPower Names Brad Davis as Chief Marketing Officer. Towards the end of this press release, SunPower CEO Tom Werner said:

I am also pleased to announce that Peter Aschenbrenner will be assuming a new role as vice president, corporate strategy, continued Werner. In this position Peter will have responsibility for strategy, business development, and management of SunPower's product portfolio. Peter has been the primary architect of SunPower's strategy since 2003, and with three decades of solar industry experience he is uniquely qualified to help us capitalize on emerging global opportunities.

To date, I have not seen an official resolution of Peter Aschenbrenner under SEC investigation in AstroPower Saga. Could this move be a second step towards a quiet exit for Mr. Aschenbrenner from SunPower?

8. Forum Solarpraxis
I am looking forward to covering this Solarpraxis AG (FRA:SPA) event again next week on November 22-23, 2007, in Berlin, Germany. Here is the program (Deutsch). I am keen to checkout and report on this presentation:

International Solar Silicon Production – an Overview
John R. Mott, COO of Solarvalue Proizvodnja d.d., Ruse (Slovenia)

on Friday, November 23, 2007, at 14:30. I have requested access to select closed Analyst Conferences in advance to avoid a repeat of SOLON AG CEO Kicks PV Blogger Out of Analyst Conference. SOLON is not on my list.

Try entering the URL http://www.guntherportfolio.com and see where it takes you. I wonder what purpose this could serve?

2007 California Clean Tech Open Final Awards Event Gala

[San Francisco, California USA]

1-Solar wins Renewables Prize
GreenVolts, Inc. announces $10 Million Series A Funding

The Academy Awards of Clean Tech, aka the Awards Ceremony for the 2007 CALIFORNIA CLEAN TECH OPEN, took place last night on Monday, October 29, 2007, at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco, California USA.

In the Renewables Category, 1-Solar was the winner of the Renewables Prize (one of six CCTO Category prizes) and Tahoe Water Systems was the runner up.

1-Solar, Inc. claims to have halved the cost and doubled the life of DC to AC inverters for solar photovoltaic system applications. 1-Solar’s President Tranh Nguyen makes his acceptance speech in the following video clip and said:

Our invertors are designed to last 15 years or more.

The short product life of inverters is one of the dirty little secrets of photovoltaics.

GreenVolts’ $10 Million Series A round of funding was led by Greenlight Energy Resources, Inc., Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA), and several other investors.

Per GreenVolts:

… its CarouSol tracking system has begun producing energy at Avista¹s Clean Energy Test Site, and that it is on track for deployment of its GV1 plant in late 2008.

See GreenVolts scores Solar Project and Investment from Avista for more details on the demonstration High Concentration PhotoVoltaics (HCPV) project located in Rathdrum, Idaho.

The official press release should be here on the GreenVolts website in the morning.

To honor all the 2007 California Clean Tech Open (CCTO) Finalists, here is a link to the Finalist Directory or Download 2007 Finalist Directory.

GreenVolts presents at Alternative Energy Innovations 2007

[Redwood City, California USA]

CCTO 2007 Alumni Award won by GreenVolts

GreenVolts, Inc. founder and CEO Bob Cart delivered a crisp company Utility Scale Solar presentation on Wednesday, October 24, 2007, at the Dow Jones VentureWire Alternative Energy Innovations 2007 conference in Redwood City, California.

In a succinct summary of the GreenVolts business model, Mr. Cart said:

We sell energy not solar panels.

GreenVolts and PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) entered into a 20 year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the GV1 High Concentration PhotoVoltaic (HCPV) power plant as I reported in GreenVolts does it again with 2MW Solar Electric Plant deal with PG&E (revised to 2.5MWp) or see the press release, PG&E Adds Utility-Scale Solar Projects to Its Power Mix.

As I have been covering developments at GreenVolts since Solar Power 2006, I will focus on the deltas or what was new in this presentation.

GreenVolts does their own Research and Development (R&D) leveraging contract manufacturers to build their Off-Axis Microdish power units and two-axis tracking platform trademarked the CarouSol™ system. GreenVolts marketing and sales efforts serve two primary channels: 10-20MWp (MegaWatt-peak) direct utility customers and 1-10MWp project partner developers such as MMA Renewable Ventures, SunEdison LLC, or Chevron Energy Solutions for example.

The CarouSol tracker was billed as 3kWp (kiloWatt-peak) again like it was prior to GreenVolts Concentrates PhotoVoltaics in San Francisco. In addition, the CarouSol was positioned as self cleaning, self stowing, easy to install, and achieving the highest energy density compared to the competition.

The integrated self cleaning system utilizes a high pressure air blast and a small amount of water to keep the mirrors dust free. Accumulated dust on the mirrors can reduce the electricity production by about 15%. At night or during high wind conditions, the CarouSol will stow the power units by tipping them downward.

At 2.5 feet (0.76 meters) tall and 19 feet (5.79 meters) in diameter, the modular and light weight CarouSol was touted as simple to install because cranes or ladders are not required and poured concrete isn’t necessary for anchoring. Also, retrofit rooftop applications do not require roof penetration for mounting.

In a revelation regarding energy density, GreenVolts claimed the CarouSol system delivers almost two (2) times the power per unit area measured in MegaWatt-hours (MWh) per acre versus the one-axis SunPower (PowerLight) T20 Tracker and two and one-half (2.5) times the SolFocus HCPV solution at lower cost per kiloWatt-hour (kWh) generated.

GreenVolts is constructing a single shift 12MWp annual capacity pilot production line now with plans to scale to 60MWp by 2010. The pilot line will be used to perfect a copy exact approach for future expansions.

In closing, Bob Cart mentioned data from field testing showed promising results though it was from a brief two month period.

While a number of questions concerned the self cleaning system (cold weather and water in arid, desert locations), Mr. Cart did not tip any vendors for III-V Triple Junction Terrestrial Solar Cells or power plant scale invertors although he did say GV1 will use 500kW sized invertors reducing the potential supplier candidates.

Per the CCTO press release, California Clean Tech Open Awards Event San Francisco October 29, 2007:

A special CCTO "Alumni" award will be presented on October 29th to the 2006 finalist that has made most progress since last year's awards event in terms of investment funding or significant customer wins.

The 2007 Alumni Award will be presented to GreenVolts, a solar startup based in San Francisco. After winning the Renewables prize at the 2006 CCTO, GreenVolts has made enormous progress, recently signing an agreement with PG&E for a two megawatt HCPV (high concentration photovoltaic) power plant that, when completed, will be the largest in the world. To add to this, the company will be making a major announcement at Monday's event.

What could the major announcement from GreenVolts be? Could there be a new customer or round of venture capital funding? Towards the end of his presentation, Mr. Cart hinted GreenVolts will have an announcement regarding the later real soon. It would appear the timing will coincide with the CCTO Awards Ceremony.

For my previous GreenVolts Blog posts, click the Topic label GreenVolts.

I know GUNTHER Portfolio is our special secret, but, please, share it with a friend or colleague.

Solar Light Flashes: October 22, 2007

Select Photovoltaic News Tidbits

Once again, conferences including Solar Power 2007 and 22nd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) have dominated Blog coverage since September. I have accumulated anecdotes and news about Blog staples and newer companies and topics over this time period.

Advent Solar, Inc.
During Solar Power 2007, I talked to an Advent Solar spokesperson at their Hyatt Regency Ballroom stand. The spokesperson claimed the retooling of Advent’s 25MWp (MegaWatt-peak) line to 156mm (millimeter) silicon wafers would be completed by about November 2007 and ready for production in early 2008. The expectation is laid off workers will be recalled to ramp production on the retooled line.

In contrast, before Solar Power 2007, my request for a reiterative quote from the Advent Solar Management Team about the retooling to dispel anonymous rumors of process issues with Advent’s Emitter Wrap-Through (EWT) solar cells was denied. My subsequent request to meet a member of the Advent Solar Executive Management Team at Solar Power 2007 was also denied. I may be a niche Blogger, but I don’t seem to have trouble getting to talk with Photovoltaic company CEOs. Could there be some shred of truth behind this rumor?

Blue Square Energy
After seeing my post, Select Videos from the 22nd EU PVSEC, Joe Babin from Blue Square Energy (BSE) wanted to clarify Dr. Allen Barnett’s relationship with the company. Dr. Allen Barnett sits on the Board of Directors and has a technology consulting contract with BSE. BSE President and CEO Jeffrey Barnett will present this week at VentureWire’s Alternative Energy Innovations Conference.

ersol Thin Film
I noticed ersol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6) CEO Dr. Claus Beneking at the ersol Solar Power 2007 stand. Dr. Beneking was willing to answer a few questions about the recent developments at ersol Thin Film. He confirmed the basic facts I got from ersol reported in Oerlikon solar (almost) at work: ersol Thin Film delays production. ersol Thin Film plans to solidify their production toolset before further expansions to or by 100MWp in the 2009/2010 timeframe. ersol Thin Film expects to be the first company in production with micromorph tandem modules by adding Oerlikon’s KAI 1200^M2 deposition system to their existing production line.

GreenVolts Inc.
GreenVolts has been expanding the management team by hiring Joseph “Chip” Krauskopf as Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Smith as Director of Project Operations, Shaun Ferguson as Vice President of Global Supply Chain, and Craig Lewis as Vice President of Government Relations. Of most interest, Mr. Smith defected from SolFocus where he was the Director of Field Operations leading the ISFOC installations. Please see GreenVolts Continues Momentum With Addition Of Technology And Solar Power Veterans and GreenVolts Positions For Worldwide Expansion With Addition Of Experienced Executives for the respective press releases.

GreenVolts will also present at VentureWire’s Alternative Energy Innovations 2007 and again at the 20th NREL Industry Growth Forum.

Inside Greentech
Since Inside Greentech (was) acquired by the Cleantech Network™, LLC to become Cleantech.com, the online publication seems to have lost its charm and gone corporate. Even The Greentech Avenger has renamed himself The Cleantech Avenger. I can’t imagine Spiderman going with a name change.

M.SETEK Co.,Ltd.
M.SETEK President Ritsuo Matsumiya delivers an Opening Ceremony speech in Japanese (with English subtitles, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X0RI-eQF7U) on May 24, 2007, at their Polysilicon Plant located in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

Sol3g, S.L.
In a press release titled SOLÚCAR TRUSTS IN SOL3G from September 13, 2007, Sol3g announced Solúcar Energia, S.A. obtained a 25% stake in Sol3g by contributing 50% of the capital in a follow on financing round. The balance of the funding is a participative credit from ENISA, a government capital investment arm part of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. The proceeds will be used to execute Sol3g’s business plan and complete the production capacity expansion to 5MWp by the end of 2007. The exact Euro sums of these investments were not disclosed.

As an Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) supporter, I appreciated this post, Bloggers should be allowed to join the journalist party, by Don Reisinger on his CNET The Digital Home Blog.

Speaking of Blogs, Madan’s Blog asks the question, Solar Energy - Heat or Hype?

ISFOC 1.3MW CPV Power Plant tenders made public

GreenVolts, Sol3g, and SolFocus among the Concentrator PhotoVoltaic power plant bidders

Back on September 10, 2007, ISFOC, Instituto de Sistemas Fotovoltaicos de Concentración S.A. or Institute of Concentration Photovoltaics Systems, disclosed the companies and their bids for the installation of 1.3MW (Mega-Watts) of CPV (Concentrator PhotoVoltaic) pilot power plants in Call for tenders. These plants will be installed as part of the infrastructure of ISFOC in Castilla La Mancha – Spain as a national and international reference in the concentration photovoltaics field.

COMPANY NAME / EMPRESA	POWER / POTENCIA (kW)	PRICE / PRECIO (€/kW)	MAINTENANCE / MANTENIMIENTO (€/100kW)
Concentración Solar La Mancha S.L. (ES)	300	6000	8000
EMCORE Corp. (US)	400	5960	7750
Menova Energy (Canada)	400	6000	8000
Arima Eco (Taiwan)	400	5998	8000
Greenvolts (US)	200	6000	8000
Electricidad Alsanbo S.L. (ES)	-	6000	7500
Infopyme Solar (ES)	-	5950	7800
Solfocus (US)	200	5850	8000
Sol3G (ES)	400	5980	7900

The final selection process is slated for completion by the first week of November 2007, and the successful bidders will install their pilot plants in 2008 per the requirements articulated in the call for tenders.

This 1.3MW tender is the second phase of a 3MW CPV pilot plant program. The first 1.7MW phase of CPV pilot plants have been awarded to Isofoton (700kW), SolFocus (500kW), and Concentrix (500kW). Installation of these is underway and should be operational in the first half of 2008. 800kW of this capacity will be installed near ISFOC in Puertollano, Castilla La Mancha – Spain: SolFocus and Concentrix with 200kW each and Isofoton with 400kW. The balance of the pilot plants from the first phase are single company pilot plants located in rural areas of Castilla La Mancha each with differing microclimates and solar radiation.

Isofoton will install 300kW in Talavera de la Reina near Toledo, and SolFocus will install 300kW in Almoguera near Guadalajara, the coldest area in Castilla La Mancha. Meanwhile, Concentrix is installing 300kW in Sotos, located north of Cuenca.

One reference on the ISFOC website appears to show participation by GUASCOR FOTON in the first phase, but this is not in the ISFOC paper or poster cited below.

ISFOC was started by a Government of Castilla La Mancha initiative commissioning the Institute of Solar Energy - UPM (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) to develop a CPV R&D plan. Professors Antonio Luque and Gabriel Sala formulated the plans for the implementation of ISFOC and the Scientific International Committee (SIC) supervising the technical management.

Spain’s national Ministry of Education funded ISFOC’s first phase with €20 Million covering infrastructure, personnel, and a new headquarters and lab facility.

Here are two quotes about ISFOC’s main objective and goal from the Flash enabled and unlinkable website:

ISFOC’s main objective is to promote CPV Systems implementation, helping so its industrialization and commercialization. Companies are invited to joint efforts towards the acceleration of development and starting up of concentration plants, and ISFOC will deliver technical reports on their operation.

One of ISFOC’s main goals is to generate international R&D projects on CPV installations.

For reference, here is the Visual (Poster) Presentation and paper with further detail on the formation and governance of ISFOC from the 22nd EU PVSEC.

VISUAL PRESENTATIONS 1DV.3
Solar Cells, Modules and PV Systems for Space Applications
Terrestrial Concentrator Systems
1DV.3.47 F. Rubio & P. Banda
ISFOC, Ciudad Real, Spain
Establishment of the Institute of Concentration Photovoltaics Systems - ISFOC

Given this is La Mancha, I refuse to make veiled references to Don Quixote tilting at two-axis CPV trackers.

GreenVolts does it again with 2MW Solar Electric Plant deal with PG&E

GreenVolts GV1 2MW (MEGAWatt) solar plant will be located on eight acres in Tracy, California USA

On the heals of a small trial project, GreenVolts scores Solar Project and Investment from Avista, GreenVolts has landed a deal with PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) per PG&E Adds Utility-Scale Solar Projects to Its Power Mix or see GreenVolts to Deliver Wholesale Distributed Energy to Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

Bob Cart, founder and CEO of GreenVolts, Inc. said:

GreenVolts’ concentrator technology makes the sun a realistic and economical source of renewable energy for utility companies and their customers. By emphasizing efficiency and flexibility, GreenVolts can rapidly deploy solar power plants that deliver more energy per dollar than conventional technology, but with a smaller footprint and that can be located anywhere along the grid - saving utilities more time and money.

Construction of the 2MW GV1 solar plant for Pacific Gas & Electric will occur in two phases. GreenVolts will complete the first phase by the fall of 2008 and the second phase by the fall of 2009. GreenVolts’ 3kW low profile CarouSol platform (see conceptual drawing) will be the primary building block of the solar plant.

Congratulations are in order for Bob Cart and the GreenVolts team and progressive partner PG&E. This is a milestone for High Concentration PhotoVoltaics in the United States. Doesn’t it just figure this would happen first in California!

GreenVolts scores Solar Project and Investment from Avista

Avista makes strategic investment in GreenVolts

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) has chosen GreenVolts for a demonstration High Concentration PhotoVoltaics (HCPV) project. The official press release is Avista Chooses GreenVolts for Utility Scale Solar Trial. Although this news was tipped in the Business 2.0 Magazine article, Big Solar's day in the sun, the strategic investment by Avista in GreenVolts for an undisclosed amount is new.

This summer, GreenVolts will site their solar electric solution at Avista’s Clean Energy Test Site located in Rathdrum, Idaho per Solar test plant planned for Rathdrum and just across the border from Spokane, Washington. In order to validate long term system performance and economics, this demonstration project will collect actual performance data over a period of two years.

In the same article, Ecolite Manufacturing Co. said it will produce the systems for GreenVolts, and the Avista project will be sized at about 2.4kWp (kiloWatt- peak) perhaps adjusted for Idaho's insolation? Per Ed Caferro, CEO of Ecolite and an investor in GreenVolts:

Bids are out for several megawatts' worth of the systems, and Caferro expects to make about 400 monthly in about a year.

Here are some exclusive photos courtesy of GreenVolts showing a prototype CarouSol and an Off-Axis Microdish power cell.

GreenVolts has excelled at refining their message and positioning since last year’s California Clean Tech Open (CCTO) and the 19th NREL Industry Growth Forum:

GreenVolts is a solar power company providing affordable, clean energy alternatives for utility companies. The company's patent-pending technology produces a superior photovoltaic collector that, when coupled with a tracking mechanism, is expected to deliver energy at a cost that is competitive with peak natural gas alternatives. The size and flexibility of the company's system allow it to be placed nearer to the demand than other alternatives, helping utility companies avoid constructing costly transmission lines or having to upgrade existing power grids.

You can tap into my daisy chain of posts about GreenVolts by visiting the last one, GreenVolts CEO Bob Cart addresses California Clean Tech Open 2007 Kick-off Event, or by using the search label, GreenVolts.

This post is brought to you by the free unsecured Wifi network MICHANDY accessible from Haus Hiltl located here in Zürich, Switzerland. Hiltl just happens to be a cool place to hang out after finishing work or shopping. Finding free Wifi access in Zürich is no easy task, and I am looking forward to using the bluespot service (see bluespot offers free WiFi Internet access in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) again this year at Intersolar 2007.

Solar Light Flashes: June 11, 2007

Quick Photovoltaic News Tidbits

I decided to revive the Light Flashes from last September and prefix Solar to satisfy the search engines. Solar Light Flashes will provide an ad hoc channel for the various factoids and observation pairs I stumble upon during my research for posts. Most of these factoids do not justify a complete post; combined I expect them to be informative.

This post is arranged in alphabetical order, and the company name or topic links back to my last significant related post.

Blue Square Energy (BSE):
BSE has been busy rounding out the team by hiring a CFO, Janis Studer Joins Blue Square Energy as Chief Financial Officer. And president and CEO Jeffrey Barnett was the presenter for Blue Square Energy to Present at the Jefferies 3rd Annual Global Clean Technology Conference although his presentation was not webcast. These moves would seem to indicate preparation for raising private equity capital or for an IPO.

GreenVolts:
GreenVolts launched a new home landing page in conjunction with the Business 2.0 Magazine article, Big Solar's day in the sun by Todd Woody. This article generated a maelstrom of search hits on the Blog looking for background on GreenVolts.

Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Limited (MBPV):
MBPV announces commercial shipment of solar photovoltaic cells and claims firm customer orders and MoUs exceeding US$100 million. In addition, MBPV expects their photovoltaic solar cells to have conversion efficiencies up to 15.5%. I guess that means at least one cell has achieved this conversion efficiency?

Nanosolar:
In Nanosolar loses chief scientist, Michael Kanellos blogs that Chris Eberspacher has left the firm. Does this mean there are problems with Nanosolar’s technology, disagreements with Nanosolar CEO Martin Roscheisen, or a transition from research and development to mass production and operations? Per Mr. Roscheisen:

Chris decided to leave, basically realizing that we now have a ton of really talented and passionate engineers on our team who know their respective areas so well that there's really not much for Chris to contribute. We remain on friendly terms with Chris and appreciate his pioneering a lot of the early science in CIGS.

NJCEP:
The NEW Market Managers have cranked out updated CORE Queue > 10kw June 7, 2007 (greater than 10kW) and CORE Queue <= 10kw June 8, 2007 (less than or equal to 10kW) almost every month. Debuting for the first time is the Public Non K-12 Schools CORE Queue May 31, 2007.

Solarvalue:
After five trilingual posts in NEWS FROM RUSE - THE BLOG (Deutsch, Slovensko), John Mott hasn’t updated the Blog since April 30, 2007. I guess John is too busy preparing TDR Ruse for Solar Grade Silicon production, but I am still jealous of his trilingual writing skills.

My accreditations have been approved and my travel arrangements are set for the Solar Promotion PV Industry Forum 2007 and Intersolar 2007. Thin films, Concentrating PhotoVoltaics (CPV), and Rural Electrification are the focus of the 3rd PV Industry Forum program this year in Freiburg im Breisgau.

GreenVolts CEO Bob Cart addresses California Clean Tech Open 2007 Kick-off Event

[San Francisco, California USA]

I know what you did this summer!

The California Clean Tech Open 2007 held their official Launch Event last night, March 15, 2007, at San Francisco City Hall in the North Light Court.

Bob Cart’s GreenVolts team was the 2006 California Clean Tech Open Renewables Prize Winner and tipped contract announcements for this summer in his speech leading a round of four Closing Speakers.

Among a litany of accomplishments for GreenVolts in the past year, Bob Cart said:

This Summer we plan to announce two contracts with Utilities.

You can watch his address yourself. Apologies for the video (lack of) quality.

Previous posts discussing GreenVolts include:
GreenVolts Concentrates PhotoVoltaics in San Francisco
Solar start ups at the 19th NREL Industry Growth Forum Part 1
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger addresses Solar Power 2006

I plan a follow up post with more speaker videos. It has taken a while for Google Video to complete Processing the lengthy uploads.

In the meantime, for background on the California Clean Tech Open business plan competition, please see Ideas, Investment & California's Clean Tech Competition at Renewable Energy Access by Sara Parker.

Also, today GUNTHER Portfolio is one year old. Please don’t check out that first post on May 16, 2006. It is not even about Photovoltaics! A retrospective first anniversary post is under construction for the less trafficked weekend.