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The Canadian government-backed Sustainable Development Technology Canada foundation has announced CAN$58 million in funding for 16 clean technology projects from across the country. The sole solar firm to receive monies to "help move innovative technology solutions to the market" is concentrator photovoltaic company, Morgan Solar.
The Toronto-based firm will be the lead organization in its CPV consortium, which also includes Upper Canada Solar Generation, the University of Ottawa SUNLab, and Power One Solar Solutions.
Nic Morgan, the company's VP of business development, told PV Tech that "the funding is for CAN$2.3 million." The SDTC grant "is being provided as matching funds for the development and deployment of test and demonstration Sun Simba HCPV systems," he said.
Morgan Solar has developed a patented light-guide solar optic technology which concentrates solar energy in a fraction of the space of competing CPV solutions. This enables systemwide cost reductions as a result of the thin, lightweight, and fully sealed acrylic optics that use less complex manufacturing techniques, according to the company.
News of the SDTC grants comes on the heels of last week's announcement by Morgan Solar, in which the company said it had raised $8.2 million in an initial funding round.
The new investments bring SDTC’s total portfolio value to more than CAN$1.5 billion. The nonprofit corporation's SD Tech Fund has completed 15 funding rounds, committing $464 million to 183 clean technology projects, and leveraging over CAN$1 billion from project consortia members.
Commenting on the awards, Minister of Natural Resources Lisa Raitt said that “our government continues to help bring innovative renewable energy technologies from idea to marketplace. Investing in these projects will stimulate the growth of a domestic clean energy industry, create high-quality jobs for Canadians and help protect our environment.”
SDTC will be launching its next call for Statements of Interest (SOI) for the SD Tech Fund on Feb. 24.
