Akeena Solar, Inc. (NASDQ: AKNS), a designer and installer of solar power systems, announced that it is licensing solar panel technology to Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP) for distribution in Europe, Japan and Australia.
The terms of the Licensing Agreement authorize Suntech to distribute Akeena Solar’s Andalay solar panel technology beginning in January 2008. This Licensing Agreement is in addition to Suntech’s previous agreement to manufacture Andalay solar panels.
Andalay solar-panel technology was envisioned by Akeena’s CEO, Barry Cinnamon. "Andalay improves on conventional solar panels by including built-in wiring, grounding and racking designed to provide maximum rooftop performance for consumers while minimizing installation costs for solar system installers. The result is a rooftop solar power system with superior built-in reliability with outstanding aesthetics in an all-black, streamlined appearance," said Barry Cinnamon. "Moreover, an installed Andalay system uses 70% fewer parts and requires 25% fewer attachment points than traditional solar systems, meaning better long-term performance."
Len May, Suntech’s Managing Director of BIPV Products, said: "Akeena’s new Andalay technology will be a valuable addition to our growing portfolio of solar products and will help keep Suntech on the leading edge of solar technology innovation. Andalay is a significant innovation that directly addresses the need to reduce the cost of solar systems, and we are confident that there will be significant demand for this attractive and high performance solar solution in markets outside of the U.S." Suntech targets sales of over 10 megawatts of the Andalay solar panels to the licensed regions in 2008.
"We welcome this expanded collaboration with Akeena Solar to introduce this lower installed cost solution to international markets," said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech’s Chairman and CEO. "The innovative Andalay panel is the perfect complement to our product offering and a clear example of Suntech’s efforts to support and promote products that bring the industry closer to grid parity. This agreement will leverage Suntech’s product development expertise, flexible and low cost manufacturing base, and robust global sales and distribution channels to expand the availability of this important new solar innovation."
About Akeena Solar, Inc.
Founded in 2001, Akeena Solar has grown to become a national installer of residential and small commercial solar power systems in the United States, serving customers directly in California, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
About Suntech
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. is a leading solar energy company as measured by both production output and capacity of solar cells and modules. Suntech designs, develops, manufactures, and markets a variety of solar products for electric power applications in the residential, commercial, industrial and public utility sectors. Suntech offers one of the broadest ranges of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products under the MSK brand. Suntech has sales offices worldwide and is a market share leader in key global solar markets. For more information, visit http://www.suntech-power.com.
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