October 31, 2008—GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, is giving a jolt to solar power pioneer Soliant Energy by joining a group providing the company with nearly $21 million in venture capital.
GE Energy Financial Services announced at Solar Power International ’08 in San Diego that it is investing $2.5 million and providing the power of GE’s ecomagination program to Soliant. The Monrovia, CA-based company—founded by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers—is developing what it intends to be the most efficient and lowest cost technology to generate electricity from the sunlight that shines on commercial rooftops, a market it estimates will reach $13.2 billion by 2010. GE estimates that commercial and industrial buildings comprise 60 percent of the total roof area in the United States.
Soliant’s goal is to deliver commercial building owners the highest return on their solar investment. The company’s rooftop concentration modules aim to be the market’s most efficient, and will deliver the highest total energy yield when integrated into complete rooftop systems.
Compatible with conventional racks and inverters, its modules leverage high efficiency solar cells and integrated two-axis tracking to maximize the total energy harvest. This increased performance results in lower system costs, high energy density and corresponding high return on investment. Soliant plans to open a 40-megawatt production plant late next year.
For more information, see the Soliant Web site.
For more on GE Energy Financial Services, see the Web site.
