Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd (TSX VENTURE:STG) ("Sustainable Energy" or the "Company") and Salicru S.A ("Salicru") announced today that the two companies will partner to bring Sustainable Energy's revolutionary "parallel" inverter technology to the European rooftop and building integrated solar power market.
Under the agreement, Salicru will distribute Sustainable's next generation of solar inverters ("Gen II") under the "Salicru" brand label throughout its markets in Southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific countries. Salicru is recognized as one of Europe's top power electronics companies, and is, indisputably, the market leader in Spain and Portugal, with an extensive distribution network throughout the region.
Sustainable's inverter technology is the first to offer the inherently higher yields and lower balance of system cost of a massively parallel system architecture to the thin film industry. In rooftop and building integrated solar applications, a parallel architecture enables more extensive coverage of the rooftop, much greater system design flexibility, and simpler lower cost installation of the modules.
"Salicru's commitment validates our vision that thin film technologies will be a major part of the future of the rooftop and building integrated solar PV markets, accelerating the industry's drive for grid parity" said Michael Carten, President and CEO of Sustainable Energy. "We are very excited to be partnering with a company of Salicru's stature to introduce the power of the parallel architecture to the European market; and to demonstrate its contribution to lowering electricity costs and delivering higher investor yields," added Carten.
Commenting on the agreement, Eduard Salicru, Managing Director of Salicru said: "We are looking forward to our partnership with Sustainable. In our opinion, thin film PV will take a large share of the solar market within the next two years because of its lower cost per watt and better performance in hot weather markets. Sustainable has a product which enhances thin film's cost and hot weather advantages and Salicru is very optimistic about the market potential."
Highlights of the agreement are
- Sustainable will license Salicru to distribute inverters manufactured by Sustainable under the Salicru brand name in its markets throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.
- Within Spain and Portugal, Sustainable will not grant any private label rights to any other companies during the term of the agreement. Sustainable may continue to sell products in Spain and Portugal through certain existing relationships, but will coordinate closely with Salicru in developing markets for the inverters in the region.
- Salicru has delivered a purchase order for a minimum number of Gen II inverter with first deliveries targeted for early Q3, 2009. The estimated value of the initial order is $6.2 million.
- Salicru will provide product warranty support at its facilities near Barcelona for all Sustainable products sold in the region, including products marketed under a Sustainable brand name.
- Under the agreement, Sustainable and Salicru have agreed to collaborate in the development of new products, using the Sustainable products and technologies as a platform. Salicru has a strong product development group and its facilities are among the best in Southern Europe.
About Salicru: Founded in 1965, and headquartered near Barcelona Spain, Salicru, (www.salicru.com) is one of the leading manufacturers of power electronics products in Europe, and indisputably the market leader in Spain and Portugal, supplying a complete range of product solutions ranging from basic AC power supplies and uninterruptible power supply system to complex integrated DC power systems. Salicru has a strong market reach into all the European markets, and has an extensive network of relationships in North Africa, the Middle East, Australia and other Asia Pacific markets.
About Sustainable Energy: Based in Calgary, Canada, Sustainable Energy (www.sustainableenergy.com) designs, manufactures and distributes power inverters for grid-connected solar PV systems. Advanced power inverters are a critical enabler of all modern solar PV power systems converting the direct current ("DC") power output of the solar PV modules into the high quality alternating current ("AC") power required by the power grid. Advanced power inverters also optimize the performance of the solar PV modules and maintain the integrity and safety of the interconnection with the power grid.
Sustainable has developed and patented an extra low voltage inverter technology which enables a massively "parallel" solar PV system architecture, in high power ratings, without compromising electrical conversion efficiencies.
About "Parallel" Solar PV Systems: With PV system designs currently in use, a reduction in the power output of any panel in the string (e.g. from partial shading of the panel by normal building congestion or simply dirt or debris) will reduce the power output of all the panels in the string resulting in a disproportionate reduction in total system output. With a parallel system design, each panel operates at its optimum power point under all conditions producing much higher total system yields under real world conditions.
Avoiding the disproportionate impact of these factors on system performance now requires site specific custom design of the system, increasing system cost, and limiting the number of locations where solar power can be deployed economically. A parallel architecture eliminates the need for complex string calculations and enables much higher penetration of the available rooftop area, thereby expanding the range of sites where solar PV is economic.
Conventional inverter technologies cannot accommodate a parallel architecture, except at very low power ratings, without compromising electrical conversion efficiencies. Sustainable Energy's inverter technologies are a breakthrough in inverter design, and the first to enable a parallel architecture for grid-connected solar PV systems in higher power ratings at a cost per watt and with a form factor that the solar industry expects.
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