Solyndra, a company based in Fremont, California that designs and manufactures photovoltaic (PV) systems for the commercial rooftop market, emerged from stealth mode earlier this week and announced that it has $1.2 billion of multi-year contracts with customers in Europe and the United States. Solyndra claims that its CIGS-based thin film PV systems provide significantly lower installation costs and significantly higher annual solar electricity output per rooftop as compared to conventional solar panel installations for large, low-slope commercial rooftops.
"By eliminating the need for roof-penetrating mounts and wind ballasts, PV arrays with Solyndra panels can be installed with one-third the labor, in one-third of the time, at one-half the cost," said Manfred Bachler, Chief Technical Officer at Phoenix Solar AG, one of the largest solar power integrators in Europe and a Solyndra customer. "For commercial rooftops, PV module installation time can now be measured in days, not weeks. For flat commercial rooftops this is game-changing technology."
Solyndra founder and CEO Chris Gronet said "Solyndra’s system uniquely optimizes PV performance on commercial rooftops by converting more of the sunlight that strikes the total rooftop area into electricity while also providing for a lower installation cost and lower cost of electricity."
The following video provides an illustration of the manufacturing and installation of Solyndra’s product.
According to various media reports, Solyndra CEO Chris Gronet has stated that the company has raised $600 million in equity financing. Solyndra’s investors include Argonaut Private Equity, Artis Capital Management, CMEA Ventures, Madrone Capital Partners, Masdar Clean Tech Fund, Redpoint Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners, U.S. Venture Partners, and the Virgin Green Fund.
For more information:
- Solyndra – Home page
- Solyndra Reshapes Solar Panels for Commercial Rooftops (October 7, 2008)
- Emerging from Stealth, Part II: Solyndra Ramps CIGS PV Lines to Volume (PV Tech, October 9, 2008)
- Emerging from Stealth, Part I: Solyndra Rolls out Solar PV Cylinders to Blanket Commercial Rooftops (PV Tech, October 7, 2008)
- Phoenix Solar AG Opens New Market Segment Through A Framework Agreement With New Supplier Of Thin-Film Modules (July 24, 2008)