While the IPO scene has been mighty quiet in recent months, the announcement by Solyndra, Inc., a Fremont, Calif.-based manufacturer of photovoltaics (PV), has created quite a stir in solar circles according to industry insiders because of its innovative cylindrical photovoltaic systems for commercial, industrial and institutional rooftops. The company was in also in the news last year when it received a $535 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for construction of a new PV panel manufacturing facility.
According to information at www.solyndra.com, the company's proprietary PV systems generate significantly more solar electricity per rooftop at a lower installed cost than conventional flat panel PV technologies and are less expensive to install due to the simple horizontal mounting and unique air-flow properties of the solar panels. Solyndra started shipping panels in July 2008.
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