SunPower Corporation (SPWR) has completed the installation of its high efficiency 1.3-megawatt solar power system on the terrace of Exploratorium's future home on San Francisco's Embarcadero.
The SunPower solar power system will generate 100% of the electricity demand at the new state-of-the-art facility that is expected to open in spring 2013. On the roof of the Exploratorium, 5,874 high-efficiency solar panels have been installed that have the capacity to offset 33,150 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the 30-year life of the system. Moreover, the system generates power that is sufficient to provide energy to more than 1,000 average American homes each year. This is equal to removal of approximately 5,910 cars from California’s highways. Any idle energy, which is not used by the Exploratorium, will be fed into the utility grid for the use of customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (‘PG&E”), a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (PCG).
This installation will allow Exploratorium to meet its 'net-zero energy' goal, thereby reducing the impact on the environment while slashing significant operational cost.
SunPower Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets and sells high-performance solar electric power technology products, systems and services worldwide for residential, commercial and utility-scale power plant customers.
Recently, Tucson Electric Power (“TEP”) had modified an agreement with SunPower to incorporate six megawatts of SunPower’s new C7 Tracker technology into a planned facility. The facility also includes two megawatts of SunPower's T5 Solar Roof Tile technology. SunPower C7 Tracker is a solar photovoltaic tracking system, which concentrates the sun's power seven times during day time and can deliver the lowest cost of electricity for utility-scale solar power plants.
Prior to this, SunPower Corporation extended its partnership with Toshiba. The two companies joined forces to meet the growing demand for solar cells in Japan. Toshiba has been working with SunPower since 2010 and has already taken delivery of 70 megawatts (MW) of high-performance solar panels. Per the new agreement, SunPower will be delivering another 100 MW of solar panels to Toshiba.
The company is a vertically-integrated solar manufacturer, with presence along the entire solar value chain from cells through installation. Moreover, these kinds of installations and supply of solar panels would result in the emission of clean and renewable energy.
Going forward, we are bullish on the company due to its diversified channel strategy, a strong presence in the residential and commercial market, along with its status as a conversion efficiency leader. The company also has a steadfast focus on spreading its revenue stream by climbing the solar value chain. All these catalysts give us greater confidence in the company’s future growth prospects despite the current tepid economic environment.
Currently, the company retains a short-term Zacks #2 Rank (Buy). We have a long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.
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