US DOE Sandia National Laboratories Awards Petra Solar Innovation Contract
Award further establishes Petra Solar as leading solar & Smart Grid solutions provider
(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, Sept. 9, 2010) - Sandia National Laboratories has awarded Petra Solar its prestigious Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) contract as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program. The contract brings to $5.8 million the amount of federal funding granted to the cleantech company that pioneered smart solar on a pole. Through the contract, Petra Solar will extend its development of electric grid stabilization, micro-grid and smart grid technologies which will enable utilities to manage the massive increase in renewable energy deployment expected as the need for fossil fuel alternatives grows.
"This very significant achievement further establishes Petra Solar as the leading utility-grade Smart Grid and solar solutions provider," said Dr. Shihab Kuran, the company's CEO and President. "Our scientists and engineers are true visionaries in the most effective ways to harness and manage the sun's energy to maximize its reach while assuring grid stability and enhancing grid reliability."
"Our innovations will assist utilities in meeting the massive increase in demand for electricity expected with the growth of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the marketplace," said Joe DeLuca, Vice President of Development and Product Management. "Our advanced technologies will give the distribution system the intelligence to increase and decrease energy flow and to store it as needed."
Petra Solar won the SEGIS Stage 3 (Toward Commercialization) contract, for about $3 million, in a competitive process that drew some of the most forward-thinking, technologically advanced solar electric experts in the country. Petra Solar's research has focused on three issues: enabling utilities to better monitor and control solar electricity as it becomes part of the mix of electricity sources, helping utilities prevent grid instability that can result from the high penetration of solar into the grid, and creating technological tools to allow the electricity system to accept and use solar and other cleantech resources more broadly among its energy sources.
"In this Stage 3 contract, we go from the lab to the field with new and advanced innovations," said Dr. Kuran. "We will be maturing our grid stabilization and micro-grid technologies through continued development, lab qualifications and field trials, with production launch planned in 2011."
Petra Solar's innovation has addressed issues connected with adding solar electricity to the mix of energy sources utilities use to generate, transmit and distribute electricity to the public. The introduction of more solar to the grid requires new power management controls and communications to better integrate it into distribution networks, Dr. Kuran said.
Petra Solar's contract is part of a SEGIS Stage III total package of $8.5 million for four projects selected based on the highest likelihood of commercialization of reliable products that will best enable and accelerate the integration of solar PV technologies into an intelligent electric grid, according to a U.S. DOE press release. Petra Solar's contract is for approximately $3 million for this stage.
"Continuing to support solar and grid technologies is necessary in order for America to maintain its competitive edge in the clean energy industries," said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "These types of projects will help ensure that our efforts to advance renewable energy and support the modernization of our electrical grid are coordinated and integrated, helping to provide Americans with reliable, clean energy at lower costs."
About Petra Solar:
Petra Solar, founded in 2006 by CEO and President, Dr. Kuran, is the pioneer of SunWave™ systems, a grid-tied, pole-mounted, distributed solar generation system. The SunWave system combines solar energy with smart-grid communications and electric grid enhancement functions to create a comprehensive utility grade solution for utilities. Investors have demonstrated confidence in Petra Solar, providing $54 million in private capital since 2007.
Petra Solar is fulfilling a $200 million contract with PSE&G, New Jersey's largest utility, which is installing 200,000 of Petra Solar's SunWave systems on street light and utility poles in 300 New Jersey municipalities. To fulfill the PSE&G contract, Petra Solar has built a workforce that has grown from 15 employees in the spring of 2009 to more than 140 employees, almost a ten-fold increase.
More information about Petra Solar can be found at www.petrasolar.com.
