Energy Innovations Puts CPV Atop a Carport

High density energy production, shade, and potential EV charging

Eric Wesoff October 19, 2011

Eric Wesoff

Editor-at-Large
Greentech Media

Eric Wesoff is Editor-at-Large at Greentech Media. Prior to joining GTM, Eric Wesoff founded Sage Marketing Partners in 2000 to provide sales and marketing-consulting services to venture-capital firms and their portfolio companies in the alternative energy and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Wesoff has become a well-known, respected authority and speaker in these fields.

His expertise covers solar power, fuel cells, biofuels and advanced batteries. His strengths are in market research and analysis, business development and due diligence for investors. He frequently consults for energy startups and Silicon Valley's premier venture capitalists.

DALLAS --- Reporting from the Solar Power International tradeshow.

Energy Innovations is still figuring out where high-concentration photovoltaics can work effectively in a world where the price of crystalline silicon modules continues to plunge.

I passed by their booth today and spent a few minutes speaking to the firm's CEO, Joseph Budano. The firm still has Idealab and MDV as investors, as well as a strong board -- and a lot of tenacity as they soldier on and search for the right applications for CPV.

The firm provides options including a ground mount, a roof mount, and a carport assembly for their 2-axis CPV assemblies.

Ground mount is traditional:

Roof mount is not so traditional, but a bit reminiscent of the sad saga of Soliant:

And a carport is pretty imaginative:

This particular carport is in Palm Desert, California and is 300 kilowatts peak of CPV. Each unit is a compact 300 watts and, like all triple-junction cell-based systems, performs better than silicon in high heat.

We've long maintained that CPV is a niche product, albeit with some potentially large niches. And carports in high DNI areas is not a bad niche.