PYRON SOLAR INC. , in cooperation with Boeing-Spectrolab has developed a highly cost-effective concentrating solar technology to convert sunlight into electricity.
Concentrated photovoltaic — or CPV — systems continuously track the sun, capturing sunlight and converting it into highly concentrated solar energy. ... Pyron Solar, a Vista-based CPV startup, uses water to support its array so that the system actually floats, helping to cool the array and make it more efficient.
CPV as an industry is an emerging field and has yet to become commercially viable. It also has some location requirements — it works well only in regions with high, direct sunlight. And Pyron’s use of water makes for a niche within that segment.
Pyron, founded in 2006, uses an acrylic concentrator lens with precise circular grooves that magnify sunlight and raise the concentration by 1,200 times, or the equivalent of 1,200 suns.
... The new version, which has an efficiency (the percentage of sunlight it converts into energy) of 28 percent, can better withstand wear and tear, is corrosion resistant even with salt water, prevents water leaks and has improved weatherproofing.
