WHAT THEY USE IN THE SOLAREST CITY

Nipton, California, the Most Solar Town in America, Will Generate 85 Percent of its Electricity from a Skyline Solar Power Plant; Town of Nipton, an hour South of Las Vegas, Installs the First Skyline Solar HGS 1000
14 June 2010

"Skyline Solar, a manufacturer of High Gain Solar (HGS) arrays for commercial, industrial, government and utility markets…announced the first commercial installation of its High Gain Solar (HGS) 1000 system in a new municipal solar power plant in the tiny desert town of Nipton, Calif. The 80-kilowatt Nipton plant is an upgradeable solar power system that will provide roughly 85 percent of Nipton’s electricity needs—the highest percentage of solar electricity of any town in the United States…

"The HGS 1000 system brings a number of breakthrough innovations to the solar industry… HGS architecture delivers ten times more energy per gram of silicon…The system utilizes tracking, cooling and concentration components, reducing the amount of silicon needed by 90 percent…The power-producing components of the system are upgradeable, allowing system-owners to…[incorporate] new solar panel technologies…"

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"…Skyline Solar HGS 1000 arrays combine industry-proven silicon cells, durable reflector materials and single-axis tracking into a complete, easy-to-deploy system…Built primarily out of commodity materials with globally available manufacturing processes…HGS 1000 simultaneously improves financial payback and scalability…

"The commissioning of the Nipton plant highlights Skyline Solar’s rapid and strategic growth over the past two years…[It secured] financing in September 2008…[announced] its unique HGS architecture in May 2009…[completed its] first demonstration plant with the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority in San Jose, Calif…[It partnered with automotive supplier Cosma in October and] ramped up to commercial production…[It recently] was awarded one of the first patents under the US Patent & Trademark Office’s Green Technology Pilot Program…The Nipton plant is another step…"