Energy Innovations’ Sunflower Becomes the First Solar Concentrator to Achieve the Coveted UL Listing

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Energy Innovations, Inc., manufacturer of commercial solar products that maximize usable energy from the sun, announced today that its flagship product, the Sunflower Solar Concentrator, has officially received certification from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and is authorized to carry the UL Mark (under the Concentrator Photovoltaic Modules and Assemblies (QICP) category). To date, no other product in the concentrating solar photovoltaic (CPV) category has achieved this certification.

“and the size of the market is trillions of dollars when that goal is reached. For more than 50 years, since expensive photovoltaic cells were invented, people have dreamed of reliably concentrating sunlight to make PV cost effective. With the UL approved Sunflower concentrator, that dream is soon to be realized.”

Currently, certification by a nationally recognized test laboratory, such as UL, is required for the permitting of commercial PV installations and is necessary to qualify for most U.S. state incentive programs.

The Sunflower CPV Solution integrates the photovoltaic module, tracker, controller and communications system into one solution that produces cost-competitive solar power while also being easy to install and maintain over time. Having secured UL certification for the Sunflower, Energy Innovations will be raising additional capital to expand production and deploy commercial installations coming online in 2009.

“After strict evaluation and testing to all current requirements, Underwriters Laboratories has issued UL Listing for the Sunflower solar concentrator system,” said Evelyn Butler, manager of UL’s Renewable Energy Sector. “We look forward to working with Energy Innovations and the growing community of solar start-ups, as well as regulatory authorities, government agencies and other stakeholders, to further define and develop requirements that will be used to test other solar concentrating photovoltaic products.”

“This important milestone is a direct result of our entire team’s commitment to building best of breed products that exceed expectations in safety, reliability and energy production,” said Bill Gross, CEO of Energy Innovations. “The UL Mark is one of the most recognized symbols of safety in the world and to say we’re thrilled to have our work validated by such an independent and reputable institution would be an understatement.”

The Sunflower system concentrates sunlight more than 1000 times and uses ultra-high efficiency triple-junction solar cells to get more energy per dollar than traditional PV systems. “Energy Innovations’ mission is to drive the price of solar-electricity below the price of fossil-fuel electricity,” continued Gross, “and the size of the market is trillions of dollars when that goal is reached. For more than 50 years, since expensive photovoltaic cells were invented, people have dreamed of reliably concentrating sunlight to make PV cost effective. With the UL approved Sunflower concentrator, that dream is soon to be realized.”

About Energy Innovations, Inc.

Energy Innovations was founded in 2000 by entrepreneur and current CEO, Bill Gross, and has assembled a world-class team of experts in the fields of solar concentration and tracking to deliver cost-effective, grid-competitive solar electric power. The company is developing the Sunflower line of concentrated photovoltaic products as well as the RayTracker line of solar tracking products, all with a focus on bringing the cost of solar below that of utility-supplied electricity. Energy Innovations is an operating company of Idealab, a creator and operator of technology businesses. http://www.energyinnovations.com

© 2008 Energy Innovations, Inc. All rights reserved. Energy Innovations, RayTracker and Sunflower are trademarks or registered trademarks of Energy Innovations, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.