Texas startup Janta Power just landed a major deal to bring its innovative solar towers to market. These towers cleverly solve one of the biggest issues with solar energy: the lack of space.
Inside Climate News reported that the company recently raised $5.5 million in seed funding, led by MaC Venture Capital, to scale up its unique 3D solar technology. Janta Power has come up with vertical towers that swivel to follow the sun, rather than spreading out flat across wide swaths of land. They're also more effective and have two energy-capturing peaks, as opposed to traditional solar's single midday peak. "Their towers deliver three times the efficiency in a fraction of the footprint, making solar viable where it wasn't before," said MaC Venture Capital's Marlon Nichols, per Inside Climate News.
Unlike flat solar panels that take up tons of space, Janta's models build up rather than out. Taking inspiration from trees and skyscrapers, the units stand tall with panels stacked vertically on a rotating axis. The design allows them to capture sunlight throughout the day while taking up less space. According to Janta, the towers can fit three times more capacity per acre and generate 50% more energy than conventional setups.
For Janta's founder, Mohammed Njie, the mission is personal. Growing up in Gambia, where power outages were common, he became determined from a young age to develop a better way to harness electricity. While in college, Njie partnered with the Hunt Institute and tested out ideas in Gambia during a school break. Using solar panels, they helped a local school upgrade with computers, lights, and fans, massively improving the students' quality of education.
"It just creates this really awesome impact," Njie said about the effort, per Inside Climate News. It was after this, when considering how to make the most of solar without taking up too much space, that Njie came up with the solar towers concept.
By building vertically, Janta's systems could help ease grid strain while also cutting pollution and making renewable power feasible in space-constrained areas. They're also designed with aesthetics in mind, considering that many critics of solar panels simply don't like how they look.
This new round of funding will help Janta Power expand its 10-person team and further improve its technology, which is already turning heads. The company has been selected as a sustainable aviation winner in the Airports for Innovation program and will pilot its vertical solar towers at Munich International Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and Spain's Aena-operated airports.
While the Janta project is still in early stages — and mostly geared toward commercial clients — residential customers are already showing interest.
In the meantime, for readers inspired by Janta's approach, installing rooftop solar panels is one of the easiest ways to reduce your home's energy costs and carbon footprint. You could even drive your electricity costs down to nearly $0. It's easy to compare vetted installers and save up to $10,000 on installation with resources like EnergySage.
With innovations like Janta's in the works, the future of solar power is only looking brighter.
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