Amonix founder sees CPV finally make its mark

Date of Publication: 
08/03/2011
Publication: 
optics.org

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

Cast your mind back to 1989. Aside from the Berlin Wall being torn down, the very first GPS satellite has just been placed in orbit, Voyager II is flying past Neptune and there is talk of cold fusion from a Utah laboratory.

And although there is an awareness of what was then termed the greenhouse effect, man-made climate change is far from most people’s list of major concerns, oil costs less than $20 a barrel and the market for photovoltaic power – well, the PV market simply doesn’t exist in any way that we’d recognize it today.

Neither First Solar nor Q-Cells would exist until another decade had passed, but some of the early solar pioneers were beginning to emerge. Richard Swanson had recently founded SunPower, and Vahan Garboushian was pondering his next move. A self-confessed “semiconductor guy”, the technology entrepreneur had already made a name for himself by forming Power Hybrids, a company he had then sold to M/A-COM for $25 million.

“I wanted to make a dent in the energy world,” says Garboushian of his thinking at that time. For many semiconductor guys, the fast-growing markets of RF and optical communications would have beckoned – ultimately bringing riches for some of them. But during his time at Power Hybrids, Garboushian had worked alongside the space community – and had seen at close hand what high-performance solar cells could deliver in terms of clean electrical power for satellites.

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    Companies and organisations mentioned: Amonix, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, SolarJunction, Boeing Spectrolab 

    CPV Intelligence Brief 17 – 30 April 2013

    Amonix converts 36% of direct sunlight into electricity

    California-based Amonix, a designer and manufacturer of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems, has converted more than 36% of direct sunlight into electricity.

    A module showcasing Amonix’s latest-generation CPV technology has been in outdoor testing from late February to April of this year. During this period, the Amonix module demonstrated a peak operating efficiency of 36.2% measured on March 14, 2013 with a DNI of 876 W/m2, an ambient temperature of 16°C and instantaneous wind speed of 1 m/s, breaking the previous 34.2% peak efficiency set by Amonix in May 2012.

    Over the entire testing period, the Amonix module earned a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) outdoor efficiency rating of 34.9%, a new world record, under international standard operating conditions for concentrator photovoltaics of 900 W/m2, 20°C ambient temperature and 2m/s wind speed, breaking the previous 33.5% rated efficiency record also set by Amonix in May 2012.

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    SEAL BEACH, Calif.--April 26, 2013--

    Amonix Inc., the leading designer and manufacturer of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems, announced today that it has successfully converted more than 36% of direct sunlight into electricity. A module showcasing Amonix's latest-generation CPV technology has been in outdoor testing from late February to April of this year. During this period, the Amonix module demonstrated a peak operating efficiency of 36.2% measured on March 14, 2013 with a DNI of 876 W/m(2) , an ambient temperature of 16degC and instantaneous wind speed of 1 m/s, breaking the previous 34.2% peak efficiency set by Amonix in May 2012.

    Over the entire testing period, the Amonix module earned a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) outdoor efficiency rating of 34.9%, a new world record, under international standard operating conditions for concentrator photovoltaics of 900 W/m(2) , 20degC ambient temperature and 2m/s wind speed, breaking the previous 33.5% rated efficiency record also set by Amonix in May 2012. The module uses Boeing Spectrolab 40% high efficiency solar cells and Amonix's proprietary CPV technology to achieve world record performance.

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