Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) has formed a global alliance with concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) company Concentrix Solar to focus on the development of utility-scale solar projects.
Johnson Controls will build, operate, maintain and provide lifecycle
support for solar installations using Concentrix CPV technology.
Concentrix is a subsidiary of Soitec (SOI.PA), a leading supplier of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and advanced solutions for the electronics.
“Before forming our alliance with Concentrix Solar, we studied all primary solar technologies and market participants. We concluded that the combination of Soitec’s technical capabilities in engineered substrate solutions and Concentrix Solar’s module design together provides the market leading solution for solar power generation in high DNI regions around the world,” stated Iain Campbell VP & GM of Global Energy and Workplace Solutions, Johnson Controls.
The emergence of CPV technology over the last few months is one of the latest trends in the solar industry. Two primary factors seem to be driving the trend: production costs of CPV are beginning to come down and traditional solar manufacturers are beginning to turn to concentrators in an effort to achieve higher conversion efficiencies.
Last month, JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU; TSX: JDU) announced that it is entering the solar industry as a supplier of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) cells.
Also in September, Cogentrix Energy LLC, announced plans to build a 30-megawatts (MW) power plant in Colorado, using concentrator PV panels made by Amonix. The plant is the largest of its type planned for construction. And CPV company Solaria recently signed a five-year supply agreement with enXco.
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