Suntech takes the cake at Solar Power 2007
By David Ehrlich, cleantech.com, September 25, 2007 – Exclusive
http://media.cleantech.com/1825/suntech-takes-the-cake-at-solar-power-2007
Suntech gets manufacturing deals from Lumeta and Akeena, and introduces two new product lines. The Solar Power 2007 conference in Long Beach, Calif., has only just begun, but China’s Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) is shining bright as an early winner. The world’s third largest solar cell manufacturer in terms of production output, and the leader in China, racked up four announcements this week, taking on two new customers and releasing two new product lines at the conference.
Suntech already counts Aterso, Conergy, IBC Solar, Ibesolar Energia, and SolarWorld among its international customers, but today it added Irvine, Calif.’s Lumeta and yesterday took on Los Gatos, Calif.-based Akeena Solar (Nasdaq: AKNS). “We’ve been sourcing a partner for module manufacturing now for the last nine months. We’ve worked with a number of potential partners and felt that Suntech’s capabilities and infrastructure as well as experience matched very well with our needs,” Stephen Torres, COO of Lumeta, told Cleantech.com. Lumeta is a subsidiary of Irvine’s DRI, the parent company of one of the largest roofing contractors in the U.S.
Suntech, which began producing solar modules in 2002 with 10 megawatts of capacity, now has three production sites in Wuxi, Luoyang and Qinghai, with a fourth in Shanghai under construction, and 4,000 employees. In June, Suntech signed a 10 year supply deal for polysilicon from Hawaii’s Hoku Scientific. (Hoku signs $678M silicon deal with Suntech).
“They have building capacity up to 480 megawatts,” said Torres. “They certainly seem to have enough capacity to support our needs through 2008 and 2009.”
Torres did not disclose how many solar cells Suntech would be producing for Lumeta, but said the deal would allow the company to boost its numbers. “We don’t see a constraint in terms of our ability to ramp up from a manufacturing-slash-sales perspective any longer, just because we’re still a small part of their business as compared to their entire volume.”
Suntech will be making Lumeta’s residential modules, as well its new Power-Ply 380, which is a self-adhesive, commercial, low-slope roof solution (see Everyone’s rolling out products at the solar show). Under its deal with Akeena, Suntech plans to manufacture and deliver 10 to 14 MW of Akeena’s Andalay solar panels during 2008.
Akeena, which just got bumped up to the Nasdaq from the Over the Counter Bulletin Board, said its Andalay panels feature built-in wiring, grounding and racking. The company serves customers in California, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania (see Akeena Solar expands into California’s wine country).
As for Lumeta, which expects to start commercial shipment of the Suntech manufactured modules in the first quarter of 2008, today’s deal could open new markets for the solar company. Lumeta markets its products in the States, but Torrest said the company has received interest in its commercial module from Italy, France and Spain.
“I think this partnership will allow us to expand our offering over and above our U.S. core market into the European market, and maybe to Asian markets as we continue to develop a relationship with Suntech,” said Torres.
But it wasn’t all about manufacturing deals for Suntech this week, the company also announced a high output solar module line and an all black module designed to blend into existing roof structures at the Solar Power conference.
Suntech said the STPVb-1 and STPUb-1 high output modules were made for grid connected applications in North America. The company said its STPVb-1 is the most powerful standard 72 solar cell module available in the U.S. market. Using six-inch solar cells, the new modules produce between 260 and 280 watts, designed for use in large commercial roof and ground mounted applications.
Suntech’s smaller STPUb-1 modules are rated at 190 to 210 watts and are approximately 1.5 meters long and 1 meter wide. The company said the smaller modules are suitable for large residential installations, as well as commercial projects that require a compromise between physical size and power.
And while it hasn’t yet released anything in iPod nano colors, Suntech’s new MSK Black Label 170 watt solar module uses dark colored components to blend into a roof, providing “the high level of aesthetics that the typical U.S. homeowner expects,” the company said in a statement.
Solar Power 2007, organized by the Solar Electric Power Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association, runs through Sept. 27 at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.