A technology that uses special mirrors and lenses to help generate electricity from sunlight may be a new bright spot for the solar industry.

Often called "concentrated photovoltaics," the technology was the focus of a $103 million deal in November to install 10 megawatts of generating capacity in southern Spain, enough to power a city of 40,000. SolFocus Inc., the Silicon Valley company that supplied technology in that transaction, on Monday is also announcing a deal to help build a 1.6-megawatt power plant in Greece that is based on the same approach.

Concentrated photovoltaics use mirrors and lenses to direct an increased amount of energy on smaller solar panels, which can be made from low-cost materials such as glass and aluminum, thus avoiding the use of silicon, a commodity that can be subject to shortages that keep panel prices high.

The technology is on a trajectory to grow from less than 10 megawatts of generating capacity world-wide this year to as many as six gigawatts by 2020, according to a report issued earlier this year by Greentech Media and the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development, research groups both in the Boston area. That would pale in comparison to the projected 300 gigawatts in overall solar production by then, but would still double the current overall capacity of nearly three gigawatts -- most of which is supplied by silicon-based solar panels.

SolFocus is expected to announce a transaction Monday with Samaras Group, a renewable-energy developer in Greece. Including the latest deal, SolFocus officials say they will have contracts to install up to 20 megawatts of capacity.