Solar concentrator tidbits...

[skids]

A few neat news items. First, another rankin solar trough system, this one designed by MIT students to use common auto parts so that destitute people can maintain them:



http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/lesotho.html

Second, an announcement by prism solar that they've started tests, presumably for approval to sell in the Japanese market. Results: their gen 1 product increases a solar cell's output by 25% and adds 12 cents per watt on, I would assume, the total wattage of the module. Say it was a 5-watt total module for math purposes, it would use 4 watts worth of silicon at $4 per watt current market value, and 50 cents of holographic film, for a total price of $16.50/5 or $3.30/watt. Hopefully they can get that price down further, but what they have going for themselves is that their panels are not bulky and don't need to track, so they'll have a nice niche in the appearence-conscious market.



http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/market/business/viewstory?id=45108

Finally, good news from my neck of the woods: one of these startups just got themselves a midsized contract:

Stellaris Corporation, a sustainable energy company that is developing an innovative, low-cost solar module, announced today that Farm-Way, Inc., a retail business in Vermont, has placed an order for a 25kW solar system that uses Stellaris modules

In addition, Farm-Way will act as a beta test site for some of Stellaris' new building-integrated solar products, which includes electricity-generating skylights, curtain walls, and a building entrance sign, which displays the retailer's name on backing plates of the transparent modules.

http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/market/business/viewstory?id=45097