SolFocus, the Mountain View, Calif. maker of technology that concentrates sun on solar power cells, said it has acquired Inspira, S.L., a private solar tracker company based in Madrid, Spain.
SolFocus is one of dozens of new solar start-ups, and the acquisition is part of a consolidation process that is bound to accelerate. No purchase price was mentioned.
According to the statement:
Inspira will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of SolFocus and will continue to market products under its own name. With established global supply chain management and low-cost manufacturing facilities, SolFocus will enable Inspira to drive down the cost of solar trackers... ...Inspira has developed the industry's most precise and stable tracker controllers, devices that orient flat-plate and concentrated photovoltaic panels toward the sun. Not only is tracking a key element in CPV systems, flat-plate tracking has also become widely recognized for providing dramatic increases in energy output increasing yield by up to 40%. With solar's extensive growth into industrial and power-field applications, the importance of dependable, low-cost trackers-available in high volumes-is of great importance. Because the solar industry relies on trackers to maximize solar energy production, it is critical to ensure that the rapidly expanding industry has the cost structure and volume support it needs to become a mainstream source for providing electricity in the most reliable manner.