Jones’ company, Helios Solar, is hoping to manufacture concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) modules at the Diven cannery.

Currently, CPV technology is about 30 percent efficient, and only one other American company is manufacturing in the States. If the cannery is bought and transformed into a CPV plant, it would mean a fair share of the CPV market, and a needed boost to the region’s local economy.

Federal stimulus money is available for projects of this sort, and combined with a potential grant from the Department of Energy, the facility could be the first of many Helios plants in America.

Unlike traditional photovoltaic panels, CPV can withstand high temperatures. One of the modules Helios hopes to bring to market is a nine-lens module; each lens would track the sun individually.

“With CPV, you could put the modules in the middle of the desert, and they won’t get cooked,” says Jones.

The only issue is the inverter that converts the module's direct current (DC) to an alternating current (AC). Because Helios' CPV modules have individually focusing lenses, there are a few hurdles to overcome as far as the inverter is concerned.

"Think of a flashlight," says Jones. "When one of your four batteries is low, then the light is dim; your output is the lowest common denominator."

According to Jones, a traditional photovoltaic array will do the same if one of the panels is shaded. Now imagine that one of those panels, in this case, a CPV lens, is completely off-sun. That means, potentially, the output will be very little in those conditions. 

Jones' team is currently developing its own inverters that would cut down on this problem.

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Pictured: Jones talks with Town Administrator L. Wayne Snider inside the opening of the Diven cannery under a bright sun.