SoloPower (San Jose, California, U.S.) has opened a new facility to manufacture its flexible copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules in Portland, Oregon, United States.

The company's Portland operations are eventually expected to have an annual output capacity of 400 MW. The start-up of the factory is supported by a USD 197 million loan guarantee through the U.S. Department of Energy which closed in August 2012.

"The opening of SoloPower’s state-of-the-art high volume manufacturing facility in Portland increases our capacity to meet the energy demands of the world’s commercial and industrial buildings, which consume 40% of global electricity," said SoloPower CEO Tim Harris.

"Both we and our customers are very excited: It’s a huge market, our unique solutions expand that market, and now we have the ability to serve our customers who are looking for an easy-to-install, predictable, and cost-effective solution for their energy needs, no matter their continent."

First company to receive UL, IEC certification for flexible CIGS

SoloPower notes that it is the first company to receive certification for flexible CIGS modules to both UL and IEC standards. The company holds 45 patents in the United States as well as 10 international patents.

The manufacturing facility is based in an existing building which was retrofitted by SoloPower. The operation of the factory is a pre-condition for the draw-down of funds under the DOE loan guarantee.

2012-09-28 | Courtesy: SoloPower | solarserver.com © Heindl Server GmbH

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