Amonix
Encyclopedia
Amonix, Inc. is a solar power
system developer based in Seal Beach, California
. The company manufactures concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) commercial solar power systems designed for installation in sunny and dry climates. CPV systems convert sunlight into electrical energy in the same way that conventional solar photovoltaic technology does, except that they use optical concentrators to focus the solar radiation onto solar cells. According to a comparative study of energy production of solar technologies, CPV systems require no water for energy production and produce more energy per megawatt (MW) installed than traditional PV systems. Amonix has 19 Megawatts of CPV solar power systems deployed globally, including Southwestern U.S.
U.S. states and Spain
.
in 1990. Since then Amonix has developed seven generations of progressively advancing CPV solar power systems.
In 1994, the company won R&D Magazine’s R&D 100 award for silicon solar cell performance with record conversion efficiency. According to the Department of Energy
, Amonix developed the world’s most efficient silicon solar cell in 2005, achieving a sunlight-to electricity conversion efficiency of 27.6 percent, which still holds the world record for efficiency of a silicon cell.
In 2007, the company began incorporating multijunction solar cell
technology originally developed for the space industry into its modular design. The system contains several photovoltaic solar cells which are combined to boost power production even further. Once connected the cells become modules that can be combined into arrays to provide increasing levels of solar power. Amonix has achieved 31 percent efficiency in its modules, and 39 percent efficiency in its production cells.
Amonix opened its 78000 square feet (7,246.4 m²) headquarters in Seal Beach, Cal., in 2008. In December 2009 the company acquired Sunworks Solar LLC, a solar manufacturing plant developer. Sunworks' co-founder and chief executive officer, Brian Robertson, became Amonix CEO as part of the restructuring.
In May 2011, the company opened its largest solar array manufacturing plant -- a 214000 square feet (19,881.3 m²) manufacturing facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada
-- bringing more than 300 jobs to the area. The plant produces approximately four solar panel arrays a day, each 50 feet (15.2 m) by 72 feet (21.9 m). The project was financed through a $6 million tax credit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
and an additional $12 million in private capital. The new manufacturing facility will be powered by an Amonix 7700 System as part of its electrical power source.
Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit. Amonix previously raised $25 million in Series A funding, and also received $15.6 million in grant funding through the DOE's Solar America Initiative to improve the reliability and reduce the cost of solar electricity to meet national goals (measured as the levelized cost of electricity) of 6 cents per kilowatt hour by 2015.
In addition to the DOE, Amonix investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, MissionPoint Capital Partners, Angeleno Group, PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, Vendanta Capital, New Silk Route
, The Westly Group, Adams Street Partners, and Goldman Sachs
.
Originally used for space-based applications, the CPV technology was adapted to utility-scale application by Amonix to take advantage of the improved energy efficiencies it offers over the previous silicon-based technology.
The multijunction solar cells used in Amonix CPV systems work by layering semiconductor
materials that have different band gaps. Sunlight enters the layer that has the largest band gap and continues to penetrate the solar cell until it reaches the layer that has a smaller band gap than its photon’s
energy. In this way, multijunction solar cells are more efficient than single layer solar cells because less of the photon’s energy is lost to heat when it exceeds the band gap of the absorbing semiconductor
material.
Used in conjunction with concentrator optics such as Fresnel lenses
, multijunction solar cells are capable of converting sunlight into electricity exceeding 40 percent efficiency. This efficiency rises as the level of concentration increases, but decreases as temperature increases. The Amonix CPV system is designed to keep the cell temperature as low as possible using passive air-cooling.
Amonix CPV systems use refractive Fresnel lenses to focus sunlight 500 times onto multijunction solar cells. The Amonix CPV system is composed of seven modules, each with its own acrylic lenses and advanced multijunction solar cell collector plates. A dual-axis mounting structure tracks the sun throughout the day as the lenses collect sunlight. Amonix systems integrate and align solar cells and Fresnel lens pairs into a proprietary module called a MegaModule. Modules are mounted to a proprietary hydraulic drive
tracking structure. The Amonix tracking system follows the sun from dawn to dusk to maintain the sun’s focus on the solar cell. This ensures that the system generates close to peak power output throughout the day and produces more energy to better match power demand from utilities.
CPV system vendors:
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
system developer based in Seal Beach, California
Seal Beach, California
-Neighborhoods:Seal Beach encompasses the Leisure World retirement gated community with roughly 9,000 residents. This was the first major planned retirement community of its type in the U.S...
. The company manufactures concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) commercial solar power systems designed for installation in sunny and dry climates. CPV systems convert sunlight into electrical energy in the same way that conventional solar photovoltaic technology does, except that they use optical concentrators to focus the solar radiation onto solar cells. According to a comparative study of energy production of solar technologies, CPV systems require no water for energy production and produce more energy per megawatt (MW) installed than traditional PV systems. Amonix has 19 Megawatts of CPV solar power systems deployed globally, including Southwestern U.S.
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
U.S. states and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
History
Amonix was founded in 1989 by CPV solar technology developer, Vahan Garboushian, its current chief technology officer and chairman of the board of directors. The company began research and development of large-scale CPV solar power systems for the electric utility industryElectric utility
An electric utility is a company that engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy in most countries. It is indispensable to factories, commercial establishments,...
in 1990. Since then Amonix has developed seven generations of progressively advancing CPV solar power systems.
In 1994, the company won R&D Magazine’s R&D 100 award for silicon solar cell performance with record conversion efficiency. According to the Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
, Amonix developed the world’s most efficient silicon solar cell in 2005, achieving a sunlight-to electricity conversion efficiency of 27.6 percent, which still holds the world record for efficiency of a silicon cell.
In 2007, the company began incorporating multijunction solar cell
Multijunction photovoltaic cell
Multi-junction solar cells or tandem cells are solar cells containing several p-n junctions. Each junction is tuned to a different wavelength of light, reducing one of the largest inherent sources of losses, and thereby increasing efficiency...
technology originally developed for the space industry into its modular design. The system contains several photovoltaic solar cells which are combined to boost power production even further. Once connected the cells become modules that can be combined into arrays to provide increasing levels of solar power. Amonix has achieved 31 percent efficiency in its modules, and 39 percent efficiency in its production cells.
Amonix opened its 78000 square feet (7,246.4 m²) headquarters in Seal Beach, Cal., in 2008. In December 2009 the company acquired Sunworks Solar LLC, a solar manufacturing plant developer. Sunworks' co-founder and chief executive officer, Brian Robertson, became Amonix CEO as part of the restructuring.
In May 2011, the company opened its largest solar array manufacturing plant -- a 214000 square feet (19,881.3 m²) manufacturing facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada
North Las Vegas, Nevada
North Las Vegas is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, located in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The city was incorporated on May 16, 1946.-Geography:...
-- bringing more than 300 jobs to the area. The plant produces approximately four solar panel arrays a day, each 50 feet (15.2 m) by 72 feet (21.9 m). The project was financed through a $6 million tax credit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
and an additional $12 million in private capital. The new manufacturing facility will be powered by an Amonix 7700 System as part of its electrical power source.
Funding
Amonix received $129.4 million in a Series B financing round, which closed in April 2010. Also in 2010, the company received $9.5 million in stimulus funding as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act'sAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit. Amonix previously raised $25 million in Series A funding, and also received $15.6 million in grant funding through the DOE's Solar America Initiative to improve the reliability and reduce the cost of solar electricity to meet national goals (measured as the levelized cost of electricity) of 6 cents per kilowatt hour by 2015.
In addition to the DOE, Amonix investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, MissionPoint Capital Partners, Angeleno Group, PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, Vendanta Capital, New Silk Route
New Silk Route
- History and leadership :NSR was initially named Taj Capital. Its founding team included, at various points:* Rajat Gupta, former managing partner at McKinsey & Company* Parag Saxena, former managing partner of Invesco Capital and Vedanta Capital...
, The Westly Group, Adams Street Partners, and Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
.
Technology
Amonix employs concentrated photovoltaic technology systems which require no water in power production and produce more energy per acre than any other solar technology. CPV technology uses optics to focus large amounts of sunlight onto small photovoltaic surfaces to generate electricity. CPV systems are the most efficient solar energy systems and produce the most energy in dry, sunny climates, where the solar radiation averages 6 kilowatt-hours per square meter per day (6 kW-hr/m2/day) or more. According to the research firm, Global Data, the average cell, module and system efficiencies for CPV systems are expected to reach 50.37 percent, 39.48 percent and 34.03 percent, respectively.Originally used for space-based applications, the CPV technology was adapted to utility-scale application by Amonix to take advantage of the improved energy efficiencies it offers over the previous silicon-based technology.
The multijunction solar cells used in Amonix CPV systems work by layering semiconductor
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
materials that have different band gaps. Sunlight enters the layer that has the largest band gap and continues to penetrate the solar cell until it reaches the layer that has a smaller band gap than its photon’s
Photon
In physics, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic interaction and the basic unit of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force...
energy. In this way, multijunction solar cells are more efficient than single layer solar cells because less of the photon’s energy is lost to heat when it exceeds the band gap of the absorbing semiconductor
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
material.
Used in conjunction with concentrator optics such as Fresnel lenses
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
, multijunction solar cells are capable of converting sunlight into electricity exceeding 40 percent efficiency. This efficiency rises as the level of concentration increases, but decreases as temperature increases. The Amonix CPV system is designed to keep the cell temperature as low as possible using passive air-cooling.
Amonix CPV systems use refractive Fresnel lenses to focus sunlight 500 times onto multijunction solar cells. The Amonix CPV system is composed of seven modules, each with its own acrylic lenses and advanced multijunction solar cell collector plates. A dual-axis mounting structure tracks the sun throughout the day as the lenses collect sunlight. Amonix systems integrate and align solar cells and Fresnel lens pairs into a proprietary module called a MegaModule. Modules are mounted to a proprietary hydraulic drive
Hydraulic drive system
A hydraulic drive system is a drive or transmission system that uses pressurized hydraulic fluid to drive hydraulic machinery. The term hydrostatic refers to the transfer of energy from flow and pressure, not from the kinetic energy of the flow....
tracking structure. The Amonix tracking system follows the sun from dawn to dusk to maintain the sun’s focus on the solar cell. This ensures that the system generates close to peak power output throughout the day and produces more energy to better match power demand from utilities.
CPV installations
Amonix Manufacturing Facility, North Las Vegas, NV, USA- Southern Nevada Water Authority River Mountains Water Treatment Facility, Henderson, NV, USA
- University of Nevada, Las VegasUniversity of Nevada, Las VegasUniversity of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public, coeducational university located in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA. The campus is located approximately east of the Las Vegas Strip. The institution includes a Shadow Lane Campus, located just east of the University Medical Center of...
Center for Energy Research, Las Vegas, NV, USA - NV Energy Clark Generating Station, Las Vegas, NV, USA
- APS Solar Test And Research Facility, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Cal Poly Pomona Lyle Center for Regenerative StudiesLyle Center for Regenerative StudiesThe John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, informally called LCRS, is a research facility at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in Pomona, California, United States. Based on regenerative principles of sustainable design and sustainable agriculture the center offers both a...
, Pomona, CA, USA - Granite ConstructionGranite ConstructionGranite Construction Inc. is a member of the S&P 400 Index based in Watsonville, California, and is the parent corporation of Granite Construction Company, a heavy civil general contractor and construction material producer....
Asphalt Concrete and Aggregate Facility, Indio, CA, USA - The Solar Zone at the University of ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
Science and Technology Park, Tucson, AZ, USA - Granite ConstructionGranite ConstructionGranite Construction Inc. is a member of the S&P 400 Index based in Watsonville, California, and is the parent corporation of Granite Construction Company, a heavy civil general contractor and construction material producer....
on Swan Road, Tucson, AZ, USA - Parques Solares de Navarra, Villafranca, Spain
- Energías Del Tietar, Talayuela, Spain
Competitors
Utility-scale solar power systems:- Suntech PowerSuntech PowerSuntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. is the world's largest producer of solar panels, with 1,800MW of annual production capacity by the end of 2010. With offices or production facilities in every major market, Suntech has delivered more than 13,000,000 solar panels to thousands of companies in more...
- First Solar
- SunPowerSunPowerSunPower Corporation designs and manufactures high-efficiency crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, roof tiles and solar panels based on a silicon all-back-contact solar cell invented at Stanford University. SunPower Corporation is publicly traded on the NASDAQ as SPWRA and SPWRB...
CPV system vendors:
- Emcore
- SolFocus
- Greenvolts
- SolariaSolariaSolaria was a fictional human-inhabited planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Robot series.It was the last of fifty Spacer worlds colonized by humans in a first wave of interstellar settlement. Occupied from approximately 4270 AD by inhabitants of the neighboring world Nexon originally for summer...
- Concentrix (Soitec)Concentrix SolarConcentrix Solar GmbH is a German solar power company based in Freiburg, specialized in concentrated photovoltaics technology. In December 2009 Concentrix Solar was acquired by the French Soitec Group.- History :...
Management Team
- Brian Robertson, Chief Executive Officer
- Vahan Garboushian, Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Guy Blanchard, Senior Vice President, Sales and Corporate Development
- Patrick McCullough, Chief Financial Officer
- Paul Russell, Senior Vice President, Engineering
Awards
- 2010 R&D 100 Award
- Frost & Sullivan Growth Capital Investment Opportunity of the Year
- Cleantech 100 2010