Photos: Next-gen solar tech at Intersolar

Solar polar bear

One of the largest solar conferences in the U.S., Intersolar, kicked off on Tuesday in downtown San Francisco, and is expected to draw around 22,000 attendees in the solar and power sectors this week. One of my favorite parts of the event is checking out the latest solar gear that the companies tout at their booths, spread across two floors at the Moscone Center.

Here’s what I saw this year:

var galleryData = [{“title”:”Concentrix Solar makes solar concentrating photovoltaic gear, and is owned by French semiconductor company Soitec. The mirrors and lenses concentrate the sunlight onto triple junction solar cells.”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc01997.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”SolFocus’ solar concentrating photovoltaic gear. The mirrors concentrate the sunlight onto triple junction solar cells.”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02001.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”This is how tall an installation of SolFocus’ is.”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02004.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Hanwha Solar hearts the Giants”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc020051.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”SoloPower’s solar panel booth”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02013.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”SolarWorld’s single axis tracker Suntrac”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02018.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”SolarWorld’s ground-mounted Sunfix”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02021.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Sun Master’s solar collector tech”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02022.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Baymak solar collector “,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02025.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Stiebel Eltron’s solar water heaters”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02027.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Lucy New Energy Technology’s solar air conditioner”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02028.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Quick Mount PV”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02032.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”REFUsol solar inverter”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02033.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”SolarEdge’s power optimizer”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02038.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Mage Solar panel with SolarBridge microinverter”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02043.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Mage Solar panel with SolarBridge microinverter”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02045.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Microinverters are the new thang”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02047.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Microinverters are the new black”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02049.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Solar data & monitoring system”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02053.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Hyundai going big on solar”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02058.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Solar monitoring system via Draker”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02061.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Solar surveillance via American Integrated Security Group”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02062.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Efficiency is a big deal for solar makers in this tough year”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02064.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Solar monitoring by Campbell Scientific “,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02066.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Hyundai’s solar polar bears”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02068.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Solar polar bear”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc020681-e1341960564795.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Solar installer gear from Seaward Group”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02071.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Solar window tech from GCL”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02072.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Solar PV shade made by the Fraunhofer researchers”,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02075.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Dye solar modules from Fraunhofer “,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02077.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}, {“title”:”Epitaxial wafer with reflector “,”caption”:””,”thumbnail”:”http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/dsc02081.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1″}];