Akeena Solar Inc., a designer and installer of solar power systems, and Kyocera Solar Inc. have announced a strategic partnership to manufacture Andalay solar panels. Kyocera will manufacture the panels utilizing its high-efficiency solar cells and deliver 1.6 MW of panels to Akeena during 2008. Kyocera has also been named Akeena's preferred supplier for its commercial business.
Andalay panels, the brand name for Akeena Solar's proprietary solar panel technology, feature built-in racking, wiring and grounding. They attach directly to the roof with minimum roof penetrations and provide customers with a more attractive and reliable system, the company says. Moreover, an installed Andalay system uses 70 percent fewer parts and requires 25 percent fewer attachment points than ordinary solar panels.
‘This agreement marks an important expansion of our strategy as we transition to Andalay installations in 2008,’ says Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Akeena Solar. ‘Kyocera has been an Akeena partner since 2001, and we are pleased to add them as one of our two suppliers of Andalay panels.’
