3D solar tower increases capacity factor 50%, triples solar surface area
21 comments
·October 30, 2025chris_va
danans
> There is no free lunch, and traditional solar installations don't usually have a lot of light missing the panels.
Traditional single axis tracking installations don't miss much light. These provide similar characteristics in space constrained areas, which are also closer to electricity consumers, potentially reducing transmission costs.
Fixed panels - common in denser areas, do miss a lot of light.
hedora
The article says they cost ~ $0.05/kwh. Does that include installation + foundation work? Presumably, they need to anchor these pretty well to withstand 110-170mph wind. I’d guess a lot less per-site engineering (and geological surveys/digging) is needed for 2d panels that sit a few feet off the ground.
Also, what’s state of the art $/kwh for rooftop and “on the ground” solar? Is $0.05 good these days?
toomuchtodo
Solar PV panels are as cheap as plywood at this point (sometimes cheaper, depends on your market as always). The cost is mostly soft costs (permitting, etc), labor, and the frame. Rooftop residential solar is still 3x-5x more expensive than ground mount, commercial is somewhere in between due to scale. Ground mount total cost is ~$1/watt, residential solar ~$3-5/watt.
Easiest wins are code to require large commercial and industrial buildings to meet load requirements for future solar installs, parking lot canopies that are solar ready (or solar installed at time of canopy install), and in the case of residential, ground mount with low regulatory overhead and minimal to no shading.
Related:
NREL: Solar Installed System Cost Analysis - https://www.nrel.gov/solar/market-research-analysis/solar-in...
Cheap DIY solar fence design - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45597198 - October 2025
Great comment from that thread on cost breakdown (Alaska): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45692595
hnuser123456
They look a lot nicer than just an array elevated off the ground, and the split angle makes more consistent power through the day. Doesn't look like this is targeting the bare-minimum-budget market. Looks like something I'd expect to see around an airport as functional decoration.
abetusk
"... designed to have high levels of energy density for space-constrained areas."
Going vertical doesn't magically increase capacity. It increases capacity for fixed surface area and if the surrounding surface area isn't needed.
NetMageSCW
It increases capacity relative to footprint.
f4uCL9dNSnQm
So how does it compare to simpler vertical bifacial solar panels discussed in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45414215 ?
seemaze
about 15 degrees
jsmailes
Is the photo in the article relevant? Unless they have some new tech that isn't pictured in the article, it looks like all they're doing is installing solar panels facing multiple different angles with motorised mounts. Potentially increases efficiency a bit, but surely nothing groundbreaking?
floatrock
Yes. The second sentence describes the target niche:
> The funds are expected to help the startup scale its patented 3D solar towers that are designed to have high levels of energy density for space-constrained areas.
Third describes applications where this arrangement could be relevant:
> The product has applications for data centers, EV charging hubs, telecom towers, universities, and a range of industrial facilities, said Janta Power.
Clearly if land is cheap, traditional surface mount with no tracking is simpler and cheaper. This is targeting areas where land is at a premium but on-site capacity is still desired.
AndrewDucker
Looking at their site[0] that's exactly what they're doing. Vertical alignment rather than horizontal, turning to face the sun.
Which doesn't seem that excitingly new to me, but I don't know the industry that well. Has nobody tried vertical alignment before? Seems unlikely to me.
soco
And those motors plus their maintenance, aren't they adding significant setup costs and, well, maintenance? We don't create energy out of a vacuum and all this doesn't seem to be discussed there.
seemaze
I find the title disingenuous. "3D" solar tower? as opposed to a "2D" tower?
Seems largely based on the assumption that most people view PV installations as a strictly planar affair.
Does my neighbor who has solar on both slopes of his pitched roof have a geometrically novel "folded plate" configuration which increases capacity by employing the biomimetic strategy of diurnal heliotropism?
bethekidyouwant
…it’s just two solar panels at an angle pointing south…
oofbey
But you know they’re filling patents on that!
ravedave5
I stopped reading as soon as I got to the word "tracking". Solar panels are so cheap it's always better to overpanel than add tracking. Then I re-read a bit and this is about adding solar panels in space constrained areas. Why would you do that? I guess maybe if some company needs to virtue signal rather than actually use the power and has a small lawn. Solar is amazing, but don't try and jam it into places it doesn't make sense.
shellfishgene
If the mounts are not too expensive it could make financial sense to even out the curve in the mornings and afternoons, especially as more and more solar comes online the price you get for your power will be higher if generation is offset from most other solar farms.
SoftTalker
If you don't have space for more panels, tracking can get you more output for more hours of the day.
mensetmanusman
Trees knew all along!
flowerthoughts
Humans are simply trees that evolved into having arms before they had leaves.
Presumably at the cost of shading your neighbors and high wind loading/expensive mounts.
There is no free lunch, and traditional solar installations don't usually have a lot of light missing the panels.