What have been the traditional challenges in the solar concentrator market?
Hines: Solar concentrators have traditionally been very large systems. You may have seen the pictures of the arrays of mirrors in the Arizona desert — maybe a quarter-mile across. Until fairly recently, no one really thought about trying to come up with CPV technology that would fit on a rooftop. Earlier efforts at rooftop CPV have stumbled because of challenges that are unique to the rooftop: things like high wind profile, heavy components that lightweight roofs can’t support, poor heat dissipation, and the need for a separate power source for tracking. Practical Instruments has applied a systems level approach — and employed a lot of very clever technology — to integrate the benefits of a very large CPV system into a small package that effectively matches the form factor of a conventional solar panel. You finally have CPV that can be installed flat on a rooftop (or tilted, if you prefer), just like today’s standard panels. This is a real breakthrough in the CPV space. TNW: Tell me
