Concentrix Solar enters the US market with megawatt CPV deployment at a Chevron facility

Chevron announced this week that the company will install a one megawatt CPV solar power plant using Concentrix Solar’s FLATCON® technology. This will be the largest CPV installation in the U.S. and one of the largest CPV power plants in the world. The power produced will be sold through a power purchase agreement to the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, Chevron stated in their press release (February 23, 2010).

“This commercial deployment is a key milestone for us and our U.S. strategy. It is an important reference for our technology, and the next logical step considering the outstanding performance demonstrated at our Spanish power plants,” said Concentrix Solar CEO, Hansjörg Lerchenmüller. “With their high direct normal irradiance and their high energy demand, the Southwestern states of the USA are perfectly suited for our CPV technology. Our FLATCON® technology's high-precision, two-axis tracking system helps utilities to match U.S. peak power demands. We are excited to prove our technology with Chevron on the Questa site and are planning new investments to further expand our business in the Southwest of the USA in the near future.”

In the USA, Concentrix Solar already installed a demo system on the University of California San Diego campus. This demonstration tracker, installed in July 2009, confirmed system efficiencies (AC) of 25 percent under full field operating conditions.

Concentrix Solar operates a fully-automated manufacturing line in Freiburg, Germany, which produces high quality, durable CPV modules. The facility has a current capacity of 25 megawatts; further expansion is planned.

A FLATCON® CPV tracking system has a nominal power output of 6 kilowatts. One megawatt consists of approximately 175 systems, which can be placed in an area of 7 acres. Concentrix Solar recently announced that the company has received IEC certification 62108 for its CX-75 FLATCON® module generation.