Soitec has expanded its family of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) products with a model that it claims is the first stand-alone mini-tracker for panels measuring 3m².
The target solar power application for the stand-alone mini-tracker, dubbed Plug&Sun, is to supplement or replace existing power generators or other forms of renewable energy in sunny regions with no power grid or unreliable grid connections.
The supplier claims efficiency close to 30%. The system uses a two-axis tracker to generate up to 2.3kWp of electricity.
The France-based supplier expects the mini-tracker to be used to bring electricity to an isolated village, to equip a school or a hospital with electrical infrastructure. It can also be used to power RF antennas.
“We wanted to make it possible to use our technology in geographical regions where access to electricity is difficult to get,” said André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, president and CEO of Soitec.
"It takes just a few hours to set up three Plug&Sun mini-trackers, which can generate 12kW on a daily basis, the equivalent of the amount of electricity needed for a village," said Auberton-Hervé.
Soitec has begun taking prototype orders for the Plug&Sun system. Shipments of production units to customers are expected to begin in the course of 2012.
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