w the sun’s movement throughout the day, and they are used in larger scale projects built for utilities or other businesses. Solaria has built various configurations with its products at its headquarters to show off different solar array designs (see our slide show).
Using trackers adds costs, but it also boosts power generation, a benefit that could be well worth the investment, particularly in markets with incentives based on power production. But Solaria is pushing its relatively new technology at a time when the global market is beset by a glut of solar panels. Prices for solar panels have fallen so quickly – by 30 to 40 percent – that many manufacturers have posted losses and expect tough times to continue in 2012. Solar panel makers are boosting their research and development work to create more efficient solar panels in order to set themselves apart and command higher prices for their products.
The company is among a breed of developers who sought to create alternatives to conventional silicon solar panels. The solar industry experienced a shortage of silicon around 2005 when it was growing and competing against the chip industry for the same raw material, which fetched hundreds of dollars per kilogram. Some companies turned to materials such as copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS). The price of silicon has plummeted in recent years to around $30 per kilogram now on the spot market.
Others began to experiment with materials such as germanium and gallium-arsenide, which are more expensive than silicon but can squeeze far more electricity from sunlight. To use these highly efficient materials, developers rely on mirrors and lenses to concentrate sunlight, so they can get the same amount of energy while using a smaller amount of materials. Solaria has opted to stick with the cheaper silicon but still adds the concentrating optics.
The company was founded in 1999, but didn’t start working on concentrating technology until much later. Its engineers first used acrylic for lenses and placed them under a protecti