SunPower

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SunPower Corporation
Type Public (NASDAQ: SPWR)
Industry Solar Energy
Founded 1985
Founder(s) Dr. Richard Swanson
Headquarters Richmond, California, U.S.
Key people Thomas H. Werner (CEO)
Dr. Richard Swanson (President Emeritus)
Charles (Chuck) D. Boynton (CFO)
Howard Wenger (President, Regions)
Products Solar panels
Revenue Increase US$ 2,312,494,000 (2011)
Operating income Decrease US$ 520,451,000 (2011)
Net income Decrease US$ (603,859) (2011)
Total assets Increase US$ 3,275,197,000 (2011)
Total equity Increase US$ 1,097,510,000 (2011)
Employees 5,220 (January 2012)
Parent Total S.A.
Website sunpower.com

References: Financials from SunPower Corporation

[1]

SunPower Corporation designs and manufactures high-efficiency crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, roof tiles and solar panels based on a silicon all-back-contact solar cell invented at Stanford University. SunPower Corporation owned 66% by Total is publicly traded on the NASDAQ as SPWR (formerly SPWRA and SPWRB). SunPower Corporation is a component of the Dow Jones Oil and Gas Index DJUSEN.

History

In 1997, SunPower solar cells were used in NASA's Pathfinder high altitude aircraft.[2]

In January 2007, SunPower corporation acquired PowerLight Corporation, a leading global provider of large-scale solar power systems.[3]

In February 2010, SunPower corporation acquired Europe's SunRay Renewable Energy for $277 million.[4]

On 29 April 2011, Total S.A. agreed to buy 60% of SunPower for US$1.38 billion.[5]

On 23 December 2011, SunPower announced an agreement to acquire Tenesol SA [6]

Cells

SunPower 125mm-wide single-crystal silicon solar cells are based on a rear-contact design that eliminates front-side metallization, maximizes the working cell area, eliminates redundant wires and makes automated production easier. Forming the junction at the rear of the cell, combined with a clever surface treatment, allows it to trap and convert much more of the available photons into mobile electrons—yielding a jump in efficiency. The cell employs several other technical advancements to boost efficiency, including an oxide passivation layer on the backside to deny regions for unwanted hole-electron recombination.[7][8]

On June 23, 2010, SunPower Corp announced that it has produced a full-scale solar cell with a sunlight to electricity conversion efficiency of 24.2 percent at its manufacturing plant in the Philippines. This is a new world record, confirmed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), for large area silicon wafers.[9]

Installations

SunPower has recently announced a number of projects around the world that utilize its patented solar tracker technology. The company maintains a market-leading position in Spain with more than 61 megawatts installed or under construction; recently completed a 2.2-megawatt solar power plant in Mungyeong, Korea; and the largest solar installation in the U.S., the 15-megawatt Nellis Solar Power Plant in Nevada.[10][11]

On October 6, 2008, Agilent Technologies and SunPower Corporation announced that a 1-megawatt solar tracking system at Agilent's campus will start producing electricity in mid-October. The system features a 3-acre (1.2 ha) parking lot canopy structure with nearly 3,500 SunPower solar panels that track the sun throughout the day. The design of SunPower's tracking solar system will generate up to 25 percent more energy for Agilent than a similarly sized flat, rooftop system, the company said. As a result, Agilent's solar parking canopy is the largest solar energy generator in Sonoma County, California.

SunPower donated the solar cells for the NASA/AeroVironment Pathfinder-Plus high-altitude UAV, which then set an altitude record of 80,201 feet (24,445 m) for solar-powered and propeller-driven aircraft.[12][13]

On August 4, 2010, SunPower Corporation announced it has completed a 505-kilowatt solar power installation for Horizon Power, a government-owned utility providing power to remote and regional communities and resource operations in the Marble Bar and Nullagine areas of the east Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The ground-mounted SunPower T20 Tracker installation is the largest solar tracking system in Australia, and powers the world's first high penetration, hybrid solar-diesel power stations. The power stations will generate approximately 1,048 megawatt hours of solar energy per year and will produce 60 percent to 90 percent of daily electricity needs for the remote communities. This project was supported by the Australian Government through the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program and implemented by the Office of Energy in Western Australia.[14]

In 2011, SunPower and Ford announced they would give Ford electric car buyers an option to install a residential solar panel placed as part of the rooftop that will charge the electric car.[15]

In June 2012, SunPower announced the completion of solar panel installation on the second ZeroHouse 2.0, a "net-zero" home, on the East Coast. The home, built by KB Homes and located in Waldorf, Maryland, uses solar power and energy efficiency to produce as much energy as it uses.[16]

Retail renewable electricity

Further decreasing the initial cost of solar panel installation, the company partnered with Citigroup to offer Solar Lease options to more diversified markets, expanding to different states in July 2011.[17] SunPower announced plans to compete with retail electric rates by reducing system cost by 50% by 2012.[18]

Dealer network

Solar power system installation companies can be certified by SunPower if they meet certain training program specifications. Dealers are sorted into three tiers depending on the level of SunPower-specific training completed, and the overall level of customer satisfaction. The three tiers are SunPower Authorized Dealer, Premier Dealer, and Elite Dealer.[19]

Development in stock exchange

The shares are listed on the Photovoltaik Global 30 Index since the beginning of this stock index in 2009.

Consumer Electronics Partnerships

The WakaWaka Solar Lamp and Phone Charger made by Off-Grid Solutions uses a 22% efficiency mono-crystalline SunPower Cell to power itself. [20]

See also

  • Helios Prototype
  • Serpa solar power plant in Portugal
  • Swanson's law
  • Dr. Richard Swanson

References

  1. ↑ SunPower Corporation
  2. ↑ "SunPower History". 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-28. 
  3. ↑ http://www.sunpowercorp.com/About-Us/History.aspx
  4. ↑ "UPDATE 2-SunPower to acquire Europe's SunRay for $277 mln". Reuters. 11 February 2010. 
  5. ↑ Herndon, Andrew; Martin, Christopher; Goossen, Ehren (2011-04-29). "Total Agrees to Buy SunPower for $1.38 Billion in Renewable-Energy Push". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2011-04-30. 
  6. ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/prnewswire/press_releases/California/2011/12/23/AQ27234
  7. ↑ http://www.analogzone.com/grnp0602.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.analogzone.com/grnp0602a.htm
  9. ↑ http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=482133
  10. ↑ Next Generation SunPower Tracker Introduced
  11. ↑ Nellis activates Nations largest PV Array
  12. ↑ NAA record database
  13. ↑ NASA Pathfinder fact sheet, archived at archive.org
  14. ↑ http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=496135
  15. ↑ VentureBeat. "SunPower packages rooftop solar panels with Ford electric cars." August 10, 2011.
  16. ↑ SoMdNews. "." June 22, 2012.
  17. ↑ Das, Krishna (July 28, 2011). "SunPower, Citi to finance solar lease projects". Reuters. 
  18. ↑ http://www.sunpowercorp.com/About-Us.aspx
  19. ↑ "Solar Panel Installers- SunPower Dealer Network". SunPower Corporation. 
  20. ↑ http://us.waka-waka.com/products/

External links

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