Tigo Energy and Architectural Glass & Aluminum Company (AGA) will collaborate in a joint venture for the production of solar energy to high-rise occupants. The companies reportedly received a grant fr…
Tigo Energy and Architectural Glass & Aluminum Company (AGA) will collaborate in a joint venture for the production of solar energy to high-rise occupants. The companies reportedly received a grant from the US Department of Energy and the Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation. AGA will, according to the JV, incorporate Tigo“s Energy Maximizer System into the solar panels it uses for its buildings, with AGA furnishing the glass and silicon coatings and Tigo supplying the electronics to turn the glass into solar receivers. COO Itzik Weinstein said he believes that with the JV in its alpha stage, the two companies should be able to offer a commercial solution within a year. Tigo and AGA are also looking to be able to provide apartment residents with the ability to create solar energy. The US federal government gives a fixed 30% subsidy on the cost of a renewable energy project, including labour. Because the installation of solar panels is classified as an expense for renewable energy, the project can be entitled for subsidies, as long as the covering is used to generate electricity from a renewable resource. Consequent to the JV and orders from Europe, Tigo has opened an office in Japan and hired a business development manager to be based in Germany. According to Tigo, it has orders and order backlogs, originating through letters of intent from the US, Europe and Japan, of 100MW for 2011, and about USD 20 million in sales for 2010. Weinstein concluded that the company will be investigating production lines in China with the ability of an industrial-scale production line, in order to keep up with the 100MW demand.