SANTA BARBARA, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 2, 2014) - Solar3D, Inc. (OTCQB: SLTD), a leading solar power company and the developer of a proprietary high efficiency solar cell, yesterday filed its 10K for 2013, as well as the 8K disclosing the audit of its newly acquired subsidiary, SUNworks.
"We are pleased that the results are somewhat better than expected," said Jim Nelson, CEO of Solar3D. "While we continue developing our next generation solar cell technology, we believe that we have an exciting opportunity to grow our SUNworks division, even more so as we see the industry data give us a view of a very bright future."
Last week, NPD Group, a top source of strategic and tactical information in the solar industry, published a report pointing to rapidly growing sales in silicon-based PV modules over the next four years. Growth in the last two years has been 34%, despite overcapacity, shrinking margins and as series of individual company disasters shedding bad light on the industry. Over the next few years, according to the article, costs will continue to drop and sales will respond as the cost of solar continues to approach grid parity.
"Over half of the US PV installations in 2014 took place in California, the market served by our SUNworks division," Nelson continued. "SUNworks will continue to grow and expand in California as it offers options and service that are superior to other providers -- even our bigger and better known competitors. But with the strength of our management team, we are eyeing additional opportunities as well."
SUNworks revenue in 2013 exceeded $8.5 million as a stand-alone company. Solar3D completed the acquisition of the profitable company on January 31, 2014, opening what Nelson calls an "aggressive" entry into the solar systems market. Organic growth alone is anticipated to make the company substantially larger in 2014. Nelson also reported that Solar3D is actively seeking additional acquisitions to enlarge the SUNworks division.
Nelson continued, "The solar space is popular right now and most of the solar stocks are performing very well. For example, SolarCity is the leading installer of residential solar systems with 80,000 customers and expects to have 1 million customers within the next 4 years. With a recent market cap of approximately $6.4 billion and estimated 2013 revenues of approximately $160 million, SolarCity is valued at approximately 40 times its annual revenue. The market seems to be giving SolarCity credit on what it will become."
But Nelson claims that entry of solar into mainstream is just beginning -- and that Solar3D will be a big part of it.
"We have long discussed the fact that it is economics -- not talk -- that will drive the growth of the solar market," he said. "There are many great things happening in the technology of solar systems -- including the Solar3D Cell -- that are reducing the cost of solar power to the end users. The key to all of the advances is the amount of power generated by the solar cell. We believe that as we push toward commercialization, the Solar3D Cell will be a key driver in making solar power competitive with the low cost alternatives -- increasing the growth of the market many fold."
Nelson concluded, "This is the ultimate mission of Solar3D -- to provide affordable solar power to the world. We believe that the values that we espouse as a team at SUNworks, as well as the further development of the proprietary Solar3D Cell, will allow us to accomplish our mission."
About Solar3D, Inc.
Solar3D is a leading provider of solar power solutions and the developer of a proprietary high efficiency solar cell. The company's SUNworks division focuses on the design, installation and management of solar power systems for commercial, agricultural and residential customers. SUNworks is one of the fastest growing solar systems providers in California and has delivered hundreds of 2.5 kilowatt to 1-megawatt commercial systems and has the capability of providing systems as large as 25 megawatts. Solar3D's technology division is developing a patent-pending 3-dimensional solar cell technology to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity. The Solar3D Cell collects sunlight from a wide angle and lets light bounce around in 3-dimensional microstructures on the solar cell surface. The Company's mission is to further the widespread adoption of solar power by deploying affordable, state-of-the-art systems and developing breakthrough new solar technologies.
To learn more about Solar3D, visit our website at http://www.Solar3D.com.
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