By David Wichner | Arizona Daily Star
The University of Arizona Science and Technology Park is home to several massive solar-energy projects as part of its Solar Zone demonstration project.
But one recent addition there isn’t part of the Solar Zone — it’s a small test array tucked away behind IBM Corp.’s building in the tech park.
IBM’s research arm recently announced that it has developed new technology for so-called concentrating photovoltaics, with test systems installed recently at IBM sites in Tucson and in Boulder, Colo.
IBM’s research chops in computing are well-known, but solar?
It’s not such a big leap for Big Blue, says Tim Dalton, manager of IBM’s Nano-Science and Technology Partnership Program, noting that the company has long designed and built its own computer chips and systems.
“The technology to do photovoltaics, be it PV chips or systems, is not that much different,” said Dalton, an IBM “master inventor” based in Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
If you’d like to discuss energy issues, contact Court Rich, Co-Chair of Rose Law Group’s Renewable Energy Department at crich@roselawgroup.com
