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Mesa-made mirrors to help generate solar energy
Glasswork facility in Mesa crafts solar-energy products
Publication: The Arizona Republic; Date: June 1, 2008
by Angelique Soenarie
Thousands of mirrors manufactured in Mesa are helping the world become a greener place.
California-based SolFocus, a designer solar energy solutions firm, is fulfilling its first commercial order at its Mesa glasswork facility, one of the company's global manufacturing sites for its photovoltaic systems.
"A lot of the components for that technology is being built or will be in Mesa," said Nancy Hartsoch, a company spokeswoman.
The company's first order is being made for a power plant in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
"We're just starting to deploy our technology commercially," said Hartsoch, adding that the Mesa glasswork facility began its operations in December.
Hartsoch said the industry for solar power is growing, which could mean more jobs in Mesa. SolFocus' glasswork facility employs 50 people, and hopes to expand its workforce as more solar product orders come in.
"Certainly we're going to be growing that facility as we need to support our manufacturing plant," Hartsoch said.
"The worldwide goal for solar technology is to be able by 2020 to provide 10 to 15 percent of the world's energy. The growth rate today is over 40 percent a year of the amount of solar energy produced."
Taking it a step further, the city is allowing SolFocus to use a water treatment facility to test some of its future products, saving the city about $200 a month on its electric bill.
William Haney, Mesa's water division director, said six kilowatts of energy the test products provide is minor since the facility uses 1.5 megawatts of power daily.
Mirrors made in Mesa are sent to India to be assembled into large panels called arrays. Each panel is made up of 16 mirrors, and each array is 30 panels.
The mirrors capture the sunlight, which is then concentrated onto a photovoltaic cell. Each array generates six kilowatts, or enough power for two homes.
About 90 arrays, expected to generate three megawatts of electricity, will be a part of Spain's power grid.
"So you're using a system that is made up of mostly glass and aluminum with less solar cell material, which allows you to generate a lot more electricity at a lot lower cost," she said.
The company sees its future customers as being industrial companies, utility companies and municipalities, Hartsoch said.
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