California-based solar energy solutions provider SolFocus and Spain's Institute of Concentration Photovoltaics Systems have announced the installation of the first concentrator photovoltaic array at the institute's 3MW project in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
SolFocus said that the installation is the first 200kW of the 0.5MW that it will install for the solar initiative, which is aimed at accelerating the development and adoption of concentrator photovoltaic array (CPV) technology.
The Institute of Concentration Photovoltaics Systems (ISFOC) project is sponsored by the government of Castilla-La Mancha. The program supports participating companies by carrying out important research and development efforts on their installed systems.
SolFocus noted that it broke ground at the ISFOC Puertollano site in October 2007 with the civil construction and underground electrical work. The installed array is rated at 6.2kW and has reportedly performed over its design output.
Dr Pedro Banda, director general of the ISFOC, said: This is a very important occasion as it brings the industry one step closer towards commercial deployment of CPV technologies. For this unprecedented and ambitious program, the ISFOC has selected CPV technologies that are the most advanced and have the brightest futures.