Energy Innovations will use this new facility to design and manufacture its proprietary Sunflower solar module, which uses lenses to concentrate the sun’s energy onto solar cells similar to those that have been used in satellites for years.
The new facility, which has been relocated from Idealab in Pasadena, California, will have an annual capacity of producing 100MW of Sunflower systems.
According to the company, by concentrating sunlight, Sunflower modules use 1/1,200th of the PV material found in traditional solar panels to convert over 29% of the sun’s energy into electricity.
Joe Budano, CEO of Energy Innovations, said: “Our move to North San Diego County was strategic, allowing us to leverage Poway’s 263 sunny days a year for module testing, placing our manufacturing center near our US customers and, at the same time, tapping into the area’s rich technology resources and talent base.
“Within this world-class facility we can house multiple production lines capable of producing 100MW of our Sunflower systems annually. We are delighted to be part of San Diego’s vibrant and growing cleantech cluster.”
