Skyline Solar, a manufacturer of High Gain Solar (HGS) arrays for the commercial, industrial, government and utility markets, has begun commercial production of the racking and structural components of its HGS System with Cosma International, an operating unit of Magna International, Inc. (NYSE: MGA) and a leading global metalforming supplier.
This is Skyline Solar’s first commercial manufacturing agreement. Its components, supported by Cosma’s engineering center located in Troy, Michigan, will be assembled at a Cosma International’s metal stamping facility in Michigan. In the US, Cosma International also operates manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Skyline announced its HGS architecture in May 2009, followed shortly by the completion of the company’s first demonstration plant with the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority in San Jose, California. The company has since been focused on optimizing the design of its first generation HGS system, while finalizing manufacturing and supplier agreements with key partners. The company expects final product to begin shipping during the current calendar quarter.
“This is an exciting day for Skyline Solar as we pass another significant milestone for the company,” said Bob MacDonald, CEO and co-founder of Skyline. “In less than twelve months, we have moved from our initial fundraising to commercial production of the first generation HGS system.”
Skyline’s unique pre-engineered and modular design maximizes the performance of system components while minimizing the use of materials that contribute to solar price volatility, such as silicon. Skyline HGS uses 10% of the silicon of a traditional flat panel system, while significantly improving energy output per gram of silicon. By minimizing the amount of high-cost materials, using a pre-engineered design and utilizing existing US manufacturing capacity, Skyline is able to significantly reduce the capital expenditures associated with solar system manufacturing and installation.
“Our manufacturing facilities are well-suited to produce structural reflective racking and mounting systems required by a number of today’s solar manufacturers,” said Horst Prelog, president of Cosma International. “We are excited to be manufacturing the Skyline HGS system and, by doing so, contributing to America’s move toward energy independence.”
Skyline HGS arrays combine silicon cells, durable reflector materials and single-axis tracking into a complete system. Built primarily out of commodity materials with globally available manufacturing processes from the PV and automotive industries, Skyline says HGS simultaneously improves financial payback and scalability.
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