SoloPower is a

solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an ...

company developing and manufacturing

Copper indium gallium selenide Copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) is a I-III- VI2 semiconductor material composed of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium. The material is a solid solution of copper indium selenide (often abbreviated "CIS") and copper gallium selenide. ...

(CIGS)

Thin-film A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer ( monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many a ...

flexible

Photo-voltaic Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

Solar Panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...

. The company uses a special

electroplating Electroplating, also known as electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition, is a process for producing a metal coating on a solid substrate through the redox, reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct current, direct electric cur ...

technology to utilize nearly 100% of its materials. SoloPower is based in San Jose, California, and has achieved the distinction of being the first company to obtain UL Certification of CIGS flexible

solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...

in 2010. This was lauded as a significant achievement by

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger. Later the same year, the company also received IEC Certification (IEC 61646 and 61730) of its flexible CIGS

, again an industry first. In March 2012, the company's modules set a world record aperture efficiency of 13.4% for flexible CIGS Solar Panels, as measured by

NREL The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and ...

Company history

SoloPower was founded by Bulent Basol and Homayoun Talieh in 2005. The company started its pilot manufacturing line in December of the same year. In 2010, the company secured $45 million in debt financing and used $19.9 million of that to acquire the shares of ousted founders Talieh and Basol. In 2010, SoloPower held talks with the town of

Wilsonville, Oregon Wilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County. It was founded as Boones Landing because of the Boones Ferry which crossed the Willamette River at ...

to set up a manufacturing plant there. In 2011, the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

approved a $197 Million

Loan Guarantee A loan guarantee, in finance, is a promise by one party (the guarantor) to assume the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. A guarantee can be limited or unlimited, making the guarantor liable for only a portion or all of the d ...

to the company, enabling a 400MW manufacturing plant in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

. In May 2011, SoloPower decided to move the manufacturing facility to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

instead. In April, 2013, SoloPower announced plans to suspend operations at the Portland plant and gut the remaining workforce. SoloPower was announced a winner of the 2012 TiE50 award in the category of

Clean Energy Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music ...

. The company closed its doors in later 2017 and no longer operational.

Funding

The Norwegian firms Convexa Capital, Spencer Energy and Scatec have invested approximately $30 Million into SoloPower in 2007. The

funded the company with $197 million from the same program that funded

Solyndra Solyndra was a manufacturer of cylindrical panels of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells based in Fremont, California. Heavily promoted as a leader in the sustainable energy sector for its unusual technology, Solyndra w ...

, as have the City of Portland and agencies in the State of Oregon, which provided $56.5 million, and the California Energy Commission. In early 2011, the company received $13.5 Million from Crosslink Capital. Lead investors in the company include Hudson Clean Energy Partners, Crosslink Capital, Convexa, and Firsthand. In the summer of 2017, the State of Oregon's Department of Energy paid $641,835 to cover SoloPower's back rent.

Governments pay for defaults

The City of Portland pays $119,000 per month until late 2020 to cover for SoloPower's default on a loan the City guaranteed under Mayor Sam Adams in 2011. The money is taken out of Portland's Bureau of Transportation. The Bureau of Transportation pays because parking-meter revenue was used as guaranty.

References

External links

SoloPower company website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solopower Solar energy companies of the United States Photovoltaics manufacturers Thin-film cell manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in San Jose, California Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Energy companies established in 2005 Manufacturing companies established in 2005 Renewable resource companies established in 2005 2005 establishments in California American companies established in 2005

Company history

Funding

Governments pay for defaults

See also

References

External links