PV panel manufacturer eyes acres of commercial rooftops

Solyndra, Inc., Fremont, Calif., announced a new solar photovoltaic (PV) system for the commercial rooftop market. Solyndra’s PV system is designed to generate significantly more solar electricity on an annual basis from typical low-slope commercial rooftops with lower installation costs than conventional PV flat panel technologies. Commercial rooftops represent a vast, underutilized resource and huge opportunity for generating solar electricity. Solyndra produces a proprietary thin-film PV system, which is based on the latest copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) technology. According to a report on Fortune magazine’s Green Wombat blog, Solyndra has raised $600 million in funding from blue-chip private-equity firms such as Richard Branson’s (of Virgin Airlines fame) Virgin Green Fund and is already shipping its systems to fulfill $1.2 billion worth of multi-year contracts with customers in Europe and the United States.