For all of you who’ve spent time in the last few weeks digging out driveways and walking through winter wonderlands, you probably have a newfound respect for the power of Mother Nature. At SunPower, we have the same respect, as we design and test our panels to maintain their high-efficiency production during the most extreme weather. In fact, a recent hailstorm at a customer installation in Phoenix, AZ demonstrated the importance of all-weather solar panel durability.

Back in October 2010, an afternoon hailstorm struck the Cowley Industrial Complex on the south side of Phoenix. The golf ball-sized hail was so large and ferocious that after the storm our local dealer, Don Herman of Empire Power Systems, said "It looked like someone had machine-gunned the complex with large bullets." However, the building’s southern end, which houses a 6.5 acre panel SunPower solar installation, was virtually spotless. More importantly, the solar panel’s continued to run at capacity producing 2.5 MW of electricity (enough to power 340 homes). In fact, out of the 8,000 panels that made up the installation, only three panels were damaged.

The tiles used in the Cowley installations were SunPower T5 tiles. Since the T5 panel is a non-penetrating model, it doesn’t require drilling holes in a building’s roof to hold the installation in place. This saved Cowley from melt water leaking through the ceiling of its distribution center and slowing operations. Facing the most extreme weather conditions, Cowley was able to maintain business as usual (and keep generating solar power)!

Next time you have to head out the door with shovel in hand, remember that your reliable SunPower panels should be in perfect operating condition. You’ll likely only need to brush the snow off of them to provide clear access to sunlight. Are your panels steadily pumping out power while surrounded by snow? If so, we’d love to see pictures of your installation braving the winter elements on our SunPower Facebook Wall.

Today, we have a story of solar for elephants, along with many other animals, at the Perth Zoo in Western Australia.



Earlier this month, the Perth Zoo unveiled the city’s largest solar site installation: a 91 kW SunPower system spanning the zoo’s elephant barn and seven additional structures. This 303-panel installation is the first of two stages in a $2.7 million renewable generation project at the zoo. With over 300 sunny days each year, this installation will provide the lion’s share of energy to several zoo buildings.



Perth Zoo went solar to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability and conservation. The installations around the zoo and accompanying educational materials will serve as an ideal teaching tool for the 630,000 visitors who pass through each year. Many young children and their families will learn about the environmental benefits of solar energy while checking out the elephant den.

The Perth Zoo’s solar investment was made possible through joint funding by the state and federal governments. It is part of the Perth Solar City program, a $73.5 million initiative aimed at making solar power a viable alternative for local communities and encouraging local residents and businesses to consider solar energy solutions.

Government solar installations like that at the Perth Zoo are incredibly valuable in influencing the uptake of solar energy. Not only do these installations make financial sense for local governments looking to diminish costs and protect themselves against energy volatility, they also show others that solar investments are possible. That’s a lesson the resident of Perth, and the elephants, won’t forget.

This week’s post is the second installment of our utility-scale solar blog series featuring Matt Campbell, Director of Utility Products and Market Development at SunPower.

In this installment, Campbell discusses the advantages of the Oasis Power Plant solution for utilities, solar power plant developers and investors. He describes how Oasis streamlines the utility-scale power plant construction and development process by providing pre-engineered modules for quicker installation.

According to Campbell, “The first [way that Oasis streamlines the construction process] is, by having a pre-engineered block. What that means is, when you have a new piece of land, it becomes a very simple matter to overlay the pre-engineered power blocks over the terrain… So again, a standard kit of designs that enable a very fast preliminary design development process.”

He goes on to discuss the benefits of pre-qualification by investors, and highlights how SunPower’s Oasis technology enhances energy production at its peak:

“The Oasis system has been designed from the bottom up to optimize production when the utility is used the most, which is at peak demand. Now if you look at a place like California, the peak demand for energy is the summer in the afternoon, when on a hot day, most people have their air conditioning systems running, which creates an enormous strain on the grid and on their power plants. So what Oasis does is by using an optimized tracking system design, it’s producing up to forty percent more power during that summer afternoon peak period, which in the southwest of the United States is the peak of demand.”

Stay tuned - in two weeks, Matt Campbell will discuss Levelized Cost of Energy, or LCOE, a way to compare the cost of generation over the life of the system for differing generation technologies.

Check out the video below to learn more about SunPower Oasis advantages, and please join the discussion on our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/sunpower or follow us on Twitter (@SunPower) for the latest solar PV technology updates.

In 2007, we began our partnership with Sierra Nevada when the brewing company commissioned the first phase of what would become one of the U.S.’s largest private solar installations. Hosting over 2,228 SunPower panels and producing over 1.9 MW of power for the brewery, the installation was a key leap forward in Sierra Nevada’s company goal to 100 percent sustainable energy production. Coupled with an existing 1 MW fuel plant, they are able to provide the majority of its electrical energy needs with clean power produced on-site - and share surplus electrical energy with the California power grid! We’re proud to partner with a company so dedicated to a clean energy future. If you have not had a chance to visit this sustainable yet fun brewing facility, you can learn more and take a virtual tour of the installation by watching the video below!

Today, our partnership continues with two special programs designed specifically for Sierra Nevada employees and consumers:

Unplug Solar Program
As part of their commitment to solar, Sierra Nevada partnered with us to provide their consumers (you!) with a way to reduce their carbon footprint and save on electricity bills through the use of renewable energy generated from solar. In addition to Federal, State and local solar rebate incentives, the Unplug Solar Program provides an additional rebate of up to $1,500 on the purchase of a SunPower solar system. Click here to find more details on the Unplug Solar Program.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Employee Solar Program
Sierra Nevada further extended its commitment to renewable energy by partnering with SunPower on a special program designed specifically for Sierra Nevada employees. With the program, we wanted to enable employees to save on electricity by providing an additional rebate of up to $1,750 on the purchase of a SunPower solar system, in addition to Federal, State and local solar rebate incentives. Click here to learn more about how Sierra Nevada Employee Solar Program works.

Is your company also interested in providing discounts to its employees on SunPower panels? If yes, then get in touch with us at affiliate.solar@sunpowercorp.com or call us at 1.877.779.7496.

In 1954, Bell Labs pioneered the development of solar power technology, creating solar panels able to provide enough power to support the telephone service to a 1950s farming family. Approximately 56 years later, SunPower, in conjunction with Alcatel-Lucent and ConEdison Development, will install a 1.2 MW ground-mounted solar power system at Bell Labs’ global headquarters in Murray Hill, New Jersey.

Occupying six acres of the 200-acre Bell Labs campus, the SunPower system will generate approximately $2.5 million in cost savings over the next 15 years, which is the equivalent to the amount of energy required to power more than 200 average New Jersey homes on an annual basis.

At SunPower, our president and founder Dr. Richard Swanson has studied up on the early days of the solar industry and is excited about the implications of this installation. Swanson said “SunPower is proud to install this system at Bell Labs, the birthplace of many seminal technologies such as the transistor. Bell Labs is also the birthplace of the first practical solar cell in 1954. Now, 56 years later, solar cells have become one of the fastest growing sources of clean electrical power, so it is fitting that this national treasure is turning to solar cell technology for its power.”

As we near the end of SunPower’s Make an Impact Facebook campaign, our friends at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties have shared a great video (below) detailing the install of their new 322-kW SunPower solar system. The installation was a donation from SunPower and Cypress Semiconductors, working through the SunPower Foundation. On October 1st, the Second Harvest team marked the occasion with a dedication ceremony attended by Second Harvest Food Bank CEO Kathy Jackson, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, SunPower CEO Tom Werner and Cypress Semiconductor CEO TJ Rodgers.

As Kathy Jackson says in the video, every cost (including electricity) at Second Harvest Food Bank boils down to meals provided. Thanks to the new SunPower system, Second Harvest Food Bank will save 50% off their future electricity bill and provide 6 million more meals to the local community over the life of the project.

The installation at Second Harvest Food Bank represents how the SunPower Foundation partners with non-profit organizations to provide solar power and positively impact local communities. If you want to Make Your Impact, visit the SunPower Facebook page and ‘like’ SunPower by Monday, November 15th. We’ll donate $10 on your behalf to similar non-profit solar projects. Likewise, visit the Second Harvest Food Bank site to learn how to help Santa Clara and San Mateo communities by donating your money or your time.

Dr. Richard Swanson, Founder, President and Chief Technical Officer, SunPower, shares details about efficiency and system costs in part two of our solar panel efficiency video series

This week’s blog post is the second installment of our three-part series with solar expert Dr. Richard Swanson.

In this installment Dr. Swanson explains why solar panel efficiency is such an important variable when calculating ROI and the total cost of a solar installation.

As Dr. Swanson explains:

"Efficiency is probably the single most important number in determining the cost of the electricity you get from the solar system."

So please take a minute and learn about the "very dramatic effects" of efficiency, and why SunPower continually strives to improve solar panel efficiency.

In the final installment of this series next week, Dr. Swanson will walk you through SunPower’s history of solar cell efficiency and where it is headed in the future. If you crave more solar discussions, but just cannot wait a week, join our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/sunpower.

Today we’re profiling one of our favorite customers, the Blackwood family of New Jersey (see video above). Many SunPower customers have two drivers for making the switch to solar: it makes financial sense and helps the environment. The Blackwoods fully embody this line of thinking. They computed that the return on investment for ownership of their solar system over its lifetime would outperform the S&P 500 with average monthly savings of $200. They also invested in an electric-MINI Cooper to cut down on their carbon output, which combined with their SunPower solar system will enable them to reduce their CO2 output by 30,000 pounds per year! We’re proud to work with such informed, forward-thinking customers.

We talked with Phil Blackwood about his decision to purchase solar, the purchase process and what’s next in his ongoing quest towards energy efficiency:

SP: Why did you go solar?
PB: I have always been fascinated by solar power. When I talked to some people [with solar panels] I could see how happy they were with their systems, especially when the systems had already paid for themselves. I did some financial calculations and decided it was not only good for the environment but also a good investment. After we had our system installed I continued reading about the environmental benefits and found they are incredible.

SP: How was the solar the purchase process?
PB: The purchase process was simple. I visited our local dealer, really liked the people I met there, and pretty much decided on the spot to go ahead and get the system. After discussing it with my wife, we put down a deposit to get the panels ordered!

SP: How effective has your SunPower system been in reducing your monthly energy bills?
PB: My panels are producing exactly the amount of power I was expecting. My lowest electric bill has been $2. Typically I am saving more than $200 a month. The amount of power produced held up well as the days got shorter in the fall. They produce the most power in the summer - right when we need it to air condition the house.

SP: You’re obviously an eco-conscious consumer. Now that you’re armed with solar panels and an electric vehicle, what’s next?
PB: I held a big celebration to inaugurate my system, and later in the evening I started thinking, “Now what? Maybe I can paint my roof white!” I studied that and decided a better option was to install a radiant barrier on the lower side of the roof (inside the attic). It’s the same idea as white paint, but it’s on the inside instead of the outside. We had our radiant barrier installed in January. I’m also changing out all our light bulbs with LED and ESL bulbs. Since we have already done a lot of other energy efficiency work on the house, the one big thing remaining is to switch out our natural gas heating with a heat pump that runs off the electricity from our roof. And maybe expand our system. And maybe see if we can go from one electric car and one gas-powered car, to two all-electrics.

SP: What advice would you provide to a homeowner who is considering a solar system purchase?
PB: Go for it!

With major automotive companies, including Ford, Nissan and Chevy set to introduce electric commercial and passenger vehicles this year, we couldn’t be more excited about both the short-term and long-term potential for major carbon reductions.

The cause of our excitement in the short term is that even if these vehicles are getting their electricity from dirty sources, which will be the case for many considering that much of electrical generation is from coal fired power plants, electric vehicles will still be clear winners in terms of a reduced carbon footprint when compared to their internal combustion engine (ICE) cousins.

However, if they receive their charges from renewable sources, such as a house, utility or charging station that is generating solar energy, consumers can then enjoy a dramatically reduced carbon footprint. This is what gets us excited!

At SunPower we envision a future where more of our energy is renewable and electric vehicles are a big step in making one’s commute green. While we understand that electric vehicles getting fuel from non-renewable sources is a little dirty, when homeowners and utilities embrace sources of energy that are abundant and renewable, such as solar, the benefits of having more and more electric vehicles on the streets become exponentially better.

Why shouldn’t our cars get their energy from the same source that has been powering plant life for hundreds of millions of years? After all, in the early stages of the automobile, electric vehicles dominated the market (link). Over time, electrics lost out to ICE automobiles because of the cheap abundance of petroleum, but now with the prices of gasoline unstable, extraction more risky and supplies finite; and with solar and renewable energy more affordable and abundant, why shouldn’t we return to the automobile’s electric origins?

A recent report by Deloitte forecasts that the electric vehicle market will make up only 3.1 percent of total automotive sales in the US (link), but this doesn’t tell the real story of the future of electric vehicles and their potential. We are already hearing about the success of some of our customers who are early adopters. For example, read the following testimonial of one of SunPower’s satisfied customers Tom Moloughney (here is a link toTom’s blog) below.

"My 8.8kwh SunPower solar electric system provides enough electricity to charge my 100% electric MINI-E and still have enough energy production left over to cover most of my home usage, Tom said via email. "lectric cars are the future of transportation and many major automotive manufacturers have electric cars in development right now," continued Tom. “Within a few years you’ll have many choices to buy electric cars and combining one with a home based solar electric system from SunPower will not only save you a lot of money, but allow you to enjoy the benefits of driving a true, 100% zero emission vehicle."

If you are interested in getting your own solar system to power your electric vehicle, we are offering up to $2000 additional rebates to the first 100 Facebook fans to sign up for a free solar evaluation on SunPower’s Facebook Page. Don’t miss this limited time offer and feel free to share it with your friends!

In this final installment of our solar panel efficiency series, Dr. Richard Swanson, Founder, President and Chief Technical Officer, SunPower, takes us through the history of solar panel efficiency and what direction it will take in the future.

As Dr. Swanson wraps up this efficiency series, we will explore SunPower’s past and peek into what the future has in store for SunPower and solar panel efficiency. After all, SunPower announced last month it had established the new world record at 24.2% solar cell efficiency: http://bit.ly/anEdic.

Among the areas discussed are the maximum possible efficiency level of a silicon solar cell and SunPower’s current focus on lowering the production costs of high-efficiency cells.

If you crave more solar discussions about SunPower, or would like to learn more about solar panel efficiency, join the conversation on our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/sunpower.

Today and tomorrow, SunPower is celebrating its 25th anniversary in the solar industry and its 5-year anniversary as a public company!

To commemorate, we’re extending a one-time only solar rebate offer for homeowners that want to reduce their carbon footprint and lower their energy bills. Join the celebration and sign up for our limited-time offer to save up to $2,000 on a residential solar system. This anniversary offer expires tomorrow, Thursday, November 18th at 11:59 p.m. PST.


The SunPower executive team celebrates 25 years of solar and 5 years on the NASDAQ

Going Solar is easier and cheaper than ever

The $2000 solar rebate from SunPower, on top of additional local, state, and federal incentives you might be eligible for, have already helped hundreds of SunPower customers to lower their monthly energy costs through solar. These are actual owner testimonials from the SunPower Facebook page:

I have solar panels with SunPower and you cannot believe the $$ I have saved in electricity. Make sure you contact them when you are ready to install panels! :o) - Beverly Tom

We put in a SunPower system through Arizona Solar Power last year. Our bills for the last 12 months total $1279.40 LESS than the previous 12 months. We are very happy. The panels look good too. - Terry Drucker

Join with us to celebrate 25 years and save up to $2,000 on a solar system for your home. Take advantage of this special offer by signing up for a free solar evaluation today or tomorrow!

* To be eligible for the special offer, you must own your home, live in SunPower dealer coverage area and sign up for a free evaluation with SunPower. Please note, this offer cannot be combined and is not available for previously installed or contracted SunPower systems.

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