Concentrating solar outfit Soliant Energy gets General Electric investment
Date: 10/14/2008
Company: Soliant Energy
Source: VentureBeat
General Electric seems to be covering its bases when it comes to solar power. The company, which four months ago bought a controlling stake in thin-film solar panel maker PrimeStar Solar, has added concentrating solar to its portfolio with a $2.5 million bet on Soliant Energy, based in Monrovia, Calif.
The two startups are about as different as they come. Whereas thin-film solar, such as PrimeStar makes, is very low efficiency but dirt cheap, Soliant makes panels that focus the sun’s rays on a single point, providing the equivalent of 500 suns’ energy to tiny, high efficiency panels. That approach, predictably enough, costs far more per panel than thin film, although they may be competitive on the cost per watt of electricity.
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