Largest Solar Deployment on a Corporate Campus in US now online

Two new solar power installations totaling 2.1 megawatts are now online at Applied Materials' corporate research facilities in Sunnyvale California. The systems, which include a 950 kilowatt SunPower PowerGuard installation and a 1.2 megawatt SunPower Tracker installation atop an elevated parking canopy, represent the largest solar power deployment at a corporate facility in the US.

Mike Splinter, president and chief executive officer of Applied Materials, said that the launch of the two systems marked another exciting milestone in the adoption of solar power in California. “We've converted our parking lots to power plants and we encourage others to join us in making solar power a meaningful part of the energy supply,” Splinter said.

The SunPower Tracker follows the sun as it moves across the sky, increasing sunlight capture by up to 25% over conventional fixed-tilt systems. Both systems use SunPower solar panels, which use Applied Materials' Baccini technology in the solar cell manufacturing process. Since the first phase of installation in November 2007, Applied reports that its solar installation has generated 1,413 megawatt hours of power. The system is expected to replace more than 2,700 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which is equivalent to the annual carbon emissions from approximately 450 passenger cars.

The new system was dedicated by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this month. The Governor praised the company's work in the solar industry after viewing the extensive parking lot-based solar array as well as a demonstration of the company’s thin film solar technology. “Applied Materials is a real California solar success story and they are demonstrating the potential of turning parking lots throughout the state into power plants at a time when we need innovative solutions to the growing energy crisis,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. While at the Sunnyvale facility, the Governor also viewed a working, SunFab thin film solar panel, the largest commercially-available solar panel in the world.

Via Applied Materials.