CleanBeta

Solar-Power Start-Up Claims Grid Parity

Hollywood’s hottest solar-energy start-up, SUNRGI, emerged from deep stealth yesterdat with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

The company, which has a research facility in Silicon Valley, claims to have crossed a critical threshold long pursued in concentrated solar power companies. SUNRGI says that its ‘Xtreme Concentrated Photovoltaics’ solar system technology will generate electricity at costs as low as 5 cents per kWh (kilowatt hour), making it competitive with conventional energy generation technologies.

The technology reaches concentrated levels of more than 1,600 times the sun’s energy by taking advantage of a new lens design and a highly efficient solar cell.