World’s Largest Solar Facility to Use CPV Technology-

Cogentrix Energy, a leading power developer owned by Goldman Sachs, has announced a deal to build a 30 MW solar power plant near Alamosa, Colorado. The facility will use concentrated photovoltaic systems (CPV) provided by Amonix, and will be the largest of its kind across the globe. Cogentrix will develop the project to provide power to the utility Public Service Company of Colorado, part of Xcel Energy. Amonix’s CPV technology uses lenses that reflect light onto small multi-junction solar cells, as well as a dual-axis tracking system to follow the sun throughout the daytime hours. Located in the San Luis Valley, the plant is anticipated to generate enough electricity to provide about 6,500 homes with renewable energy. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2011, with the project to wrap up around the second quarter of 2012. Robert Mancini, CEO of Cogentrix and a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs, said: “It has become apparent that cleaner and more sustainable electric power generation is going to become a larger component of the nation’s energy mix and Cogentrix is excited to be at the forefront of this evolution.”