Seeing the light in Arizona: Sudbury company tests solar panel design in U.S.

• Author: Myers, Ella
• Position: Green Report

A Sudbury-based green technology company is making inroads in the U.S. with the testing of their innovative solar devices in Arizona.

Crystal Green Energy has been working on their Solar Optic Modules (SOMs) for five years now. In February, they began testing at the Arizona Center for Innovation in Tucson.

"Testing in Arizona is the first step towards proof of concept," said Gilles Leduc, company president and inventor. "It's to make sure all of the individual components work."

The SOMs are in Arizona to test how they function in extreme environments.

The devices have already seen some frigid Sudbury weather, but Leduc needed to see how they held up under the dry southern heat. There was also, quite simply, a shortage of sun in Northern Ontario.

Leduc's product differs from the traditional flat panel solar power devices currently on the market in several ways.

The most obvious is its shape.

The SOMs consist of a beehive of several deep, highly reflective lightweight cones that more efficiently concentrates the sun's rays.

While a traditional panel may operate at around 15 per cent efficiency, Leduc said his modules are closer to 40 per cent.

The device also takes into account the time, and includes a tracking system so it follows the sun through the sky as it moves, maximizing exposure.

Unlike a traditional panel, which is linked to one substrate, the module incorporates several cells onto one substrate, an innovation Leduc describes as "a leap forward, like taking a...