Americans love the idea of the neatly packaged product, even when it comes to clean power — biofuels, wind and nuclear all come in modular “in-a-box” sizes. In that same vein, Helios Solar, a 2-year-old startup based in Denver, Colorado, has announced that its SunCube is now on-sale, and will be ready for installation in the Spring of 2010.
The SunCube is a concentrating photovoltaic system — which magnifies sunlight and directs it onto solar cells — and is set up as a 300-watt module, with 30+ percent efficiency, which is almost double the efficiency of standard PV. The Cube also uses a dual-axis tracking system to maximize the power output.

The SunCube is one of a growing number of CPV systems that have emerged on the market recently, including Solarmation, which is looking to make CPV more modular, Soliant Energy, SolFocus, and these 13 CPV players. Some CPV systems can be more expensive on the initial investment than traditional solar panels, and also have moving parts, which means they can be less reliable. But CPV systems can have a higher efficiency and higher output (which means they can be less expensive because you need less equipment), and can be fit into smaller spaces, which is a benefit for certain types of installations.

Helios Solar was set up in 2008 to sell the SunCube to the southwestern region of the U.S. including Hawaii, using technology from Australia’s Green and Gold Energy (GGE). New Mexico-based company Emcore makes the triple junction gallium arsenide chips that are responsible for the highly efficient solar cell used in the SunCube. Helios is backed by 10 local Denver investors.

Helios plans to build one or more factories in Colorado and across the southwest, but is currently building its SunCubes in a plant in India and is looking for state funding The company says that each line at its Colorado factory will directly employ 180 staff and over a thousand indirectly. Vibrant Solar, also based in Denver in the same office space, will install the SunCubes in the southwest.
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