AltEnToday

Sunrgi, based in Hollywood, California, has introduced a concentrated integrated solar cell system that may make distributed solar cost-effective across a huge swath of land in the US. The panels, named XCPV (standing for Xtreme Concentrated PhotoVoltaics). According to cofounder Robert Block of Sunrgi, “We expect the SUNRGI system to become available for both on and off-grid power applications, worldwide, in twelve to fifteen months” which puts commercial viability sometime in 2009.

The key concept behind XCPV is the integrated nature of all the component parts. Rather than relying on a separate concentration and PV panel, the XCPV integrates concentrating lenses directly in to the face of the panel, which concentrates “more than 1,600 times the sun’s energy.” Furthermore, the system is designed with an integrated cooling system on the opposite side of the panel - alleviating at least a portion of the tremendous heat that must be generated.

The magic number - 5 cents per kilowatt hour - is what Sunrgi is promising. We’ll know within about a year whether or not they can actually deliver. If they can, Sunrgi’s concentrated solution may be just the jolt that residential and utility-scale solar providers are looking for to overcome the cost barrier versus traditional grid sources.