SolFocus, a California-based solar technology company, is set to begin testing its concentrator photovoltaics technology at the the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii in Kona.

SolFocus has scheduled a blessing for its new facility from 9:30 a.m. to noon July 16.

The firm's CPV technology magnifies sunlight 500 times onto small, highly efficient solar cells to generate electricity. SolFocus says its CPV systems use 1/1000th of the active solar cell material used by traditional photovoltaic panels.

SolFocus' tracking system aligns the solar array with direct sun rays throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky.