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SunPower Begins New Solar Panel Volume Shipments

SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR) has begun volume shipments of its new line of solar panels. Rated at 220, 215 and 95 watts, the line is designed to maximize energy production from a limited solar array footprint in residential, commercial, and remote power applications. The solar panels offer efficiencies of up to 17.7 percent, producing up to 50 percent more power in a given roof area compared to conventional solar panels, while reducing installation costs per unit of power. The SPR-215 panel incorporates the company’s uniquel, all-black design that enhances the appearance of roof-mounted solar systems. The SPR-220 was recently listed by Photon Magazine as the highest efficiency panel available worldwide. “Our solar panels have historically offered a level of performance that far exceeds any other product on the market,” said Peter Aschenbrenner, vice president of marketing and sales for SunPower Corp. “SunPower’s new panels provide even higher efficiency while retaining the sleek look and feel that our customers highly value.” SunPower’s solar panels have no moving parts, creating pollution-free electricity with no noise and virtually no maintenance. In addition, due to SunPower’s all back-contact solar cell design, its high-tech, high-performance solar panels perform better than most other solar panels during cloudy […]

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Spire Manufactures BIPV Modules for Kyocera

Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR) has announced that the Company is using its own SPI-LINE(TM) photovoltaic module production line to fabricate large-format, building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules for Kyocera Solar, Inc., demonstrating the capabilities of Spire’s manufacturing equipment. In 2005, Spire produced BIPV modules for Kyocera’s Solar Grove installation in San Diego, California. Spire’s module production line, located at the Company’s Bedford, MA headquarters, produces specialty photovoltaic modules for customers. This production line also enables Spire to better serve its equipment customers by providing a working laboratory to prototype and evaluate design enhancements to the machines, and to train customer staff. Roger G. Little, Chairman and CEO of Spire Corporation, said, “By designing, building, and producing modules from our own manufacturing equipment, Spire has developed expertise in module manufacture and design. As demonstrated in Kyocera’s Solar Grove, our production line is now providing the opportunity for other companies to offer niche module products, manufactured by Spire, enabling them to compete in new markets.” Website: http://www.spirecorp.com     

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Northern Power Acquires Crown Engineering Businesses

Northern Power, the energy services unit of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: DESC), has acquired the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business, as well as the operations and maintenance (O&M) service business, of California-based firm Crown Engineering & Construction. The transaction adds to Northern Power’s EPC and O&M capabilities in California, primarily serving that state’s distributed generation (DG) market, and includes 8 long-term service contracts with an estimated aggregate value of $2 million per year over the next several years. Key employees of Crown familiar with the EPC and O&M service clients will become employees of Northern Power. The agreement took effect April 3, 2006. Ambrose L. Schwallie, CEO of Distributed Energy, said that the acquisition is part of the company’s plan to increase the scale of its energy services business. “California is a key market for us and Crown’s activities are very compatible with our existing capabilities and initiatives; we expect the results of this transaction to prove accretive to our operating results.” The company intends to strengthen its leadership position in the California DG market. According to the California Energy Commission’s 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report, combined heat and power (CHP) DG systems are expected to increase by […]

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