The San Jose solar-cell manufacturer sits at the forefront of the booming renewable energy industry.
April 16, 2007 (Press Release) --
The San Jose solar-cell manufacturer sits at the forefront of the booming renewable energy industry. The company, founded by a Stanford University professor in 1985, more than tripled its sales to $236.5 million for 2006 from $78.6 million in 2005, making it the fastest-growing company in Silicon Valley last year.
Sales for this year's SV150 grew 9.3 percent from the year before. SunPower's sales grew 200 percent year over year.
SunPower, after years of research, now seems to be limited only by how fast it can make solar panels. The company is building a second factory in the Philippines and is currently searching to place a panel-assembly operation in the United States.
The company's growth mirrors the booming solar industry. It has ramped up production of its solar panels as demand has increased and it has secured long-term contracts for silicon, a key material in solar cells, Edwards said.
At the same time, solar power's popularity has exploded at a faster-than-expected clip. Fears about global warming, rising energy prices and an increase in government incentives are spurring home builders and owners in the U.S. market to look at solar power, said Noah Kaye, spokesman for the Solar Energy Industries Association. A case in point: A report last year predicted the solar-panel-installation market would grow by 20 percent, but more recent industry data pegs the market's growth at 40 percent, Kaye said.
And that pace is only expected to accelerate as more states follow California's example of offering rebates and tax incentives. In addition, more factories that produce silicon are slated to go into production in the next few years, Kaye said.
But rather than counting on market growth, SunPower is a "smart company making the right moves," said Clint Wilder, contributing editor at market research and strategy firm Clean Edge.
The company completed its purchase of Berkeley-based PowerLight, which designs, installs and operates large-scale solar-power systems, this year. With that purchase, SunPower now controls the beginning-to-end process for solar power, from building the cell to system installation for residential and industrial-scale systems.
The integrated company can search for ways to cut the cost of solar by integrating the technology from both companies, Wilder said.
Swanson said the company hopes for a cost reduction of 50 percent by 2012.
SunPower's quarterly research-and-development spending rose 29 percent during 2006, and much of the $2.6 million the company spent on R&D during the final quarter of 2006 is focused on reducing production costs and improving efficiency, Swanson said.
It's an investment in an industry that is expected to keep growing. And as the biggest solar company in the United States, SunPower is poised to take advantage of the growing domestic market.
Author: Sarah Jane Tribble
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/
Sales for this year's SV150 grew 9.3 percent from the year before. SunPower's sales grew 200 percent year over year.
SunPower, after years of research, now seems to be limited only by how fast it can make solar panels. The company is building a second factory in the Philippines and is currently searching to place a panel-assembly operation in the United States.
The company's growth mirrors the booming solar industry. It has ramped up production of its solar panels as demand has increased and it has secured long-term contracts for silicon, a key material in solar cells, Edwards said.
At the same time, solar power's popularity has exploded at a faster-than-expected clip. Fears about global warming, rising energy prices and an increase in government incentives are spurring home builders and owners in the U.S. market to look at solar power, said Noah Kaye, spokesman for the Solar Energy Industries Association. A case in point: A report last year predicted the solar-panel-installation market would grow by 20 percent, but more recent industry data pegs the market's growth at 40 percent, Kaye said.
And that pace is only expected to accelerate as more states follow California's example of offering rebates and tax incentives. In addition, more factories that produce silicon are slated to go into production in the next few years, Kaye said.
But rather than counting on market growth, SunPower is a "smart company making the right moves," said Clint Wilder, contributing editor at market research and strategy firm Clean Edge.
The company completed its purchase of Berkeley-based PowerLight, which designs, installs and operates large-scale solar-power systems, this year. With that purchase, SunPower now controls the beginning-to-end process for solar power, from building the cell to system installation for residential and industrial-scale systems.
The integrated company can search for ways to cut the cost of solar by integrating the technology from both companies, Wilder said.
Swanson said the company hopes for a cost reduction of 50 percent by 2012.
SunPower's quarterly research-and-development spending rose 29 percent during 2006, and much of the $2.6 million the company spent on R&D during the final quarter of 2006 is focused on reducing production costs and improving efficiency, Swanson said.
It's an investment in an industry that is expected to keep growing. And as the biggest solar company in the United States, SunPower is poised to take advantage of the growing domestic market.
Author: Sarah Jane Tribble
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/
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