SoloPower is a solar energy company developing and manufacturing Copper indium gallium selenide

Copper indium gallium selenide

Copper indium gallium selenide is a I-III-VI2 semiconductor material composed of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium. The material is a solid solution of copper indium selenide and copper gallium selenide...

 (CIGS) Thin-film flexible Photo-voltaic Solar Panels. The company uses a special electroplating

Electroplating

Electroplating is a plating process in which metal ions in a solution are moved by an electric field to coat an electrode. The process uses electrical current to reduce cations of a desired material from a solution and coat a conductive object with a thin layer of the material, such as a metal...

 technology to utilize nearly 100% of its materials.

SoloPower is based in San Jose

San Jose, California

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

, California, and has achieved the distinction of being the first company to obtain UL Certification

Underwriters Laboratories

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. is an independent product safety certification organization. Established in 1894, the company has its headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois. UL develops standards and test procedures for products, materials, components, assemblies, tools and equipment, chiefly dealing...

 of CIGS

Copper indium gallium selenide

Copper indium gallium selenide is a I-III-VI2 semiconductor material composed of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium. The material is a solid solution of copper indium selenide and copper gallium selenide...

 flexible solar panels in 2010. This was lauded as a significant achievement by California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....

. Later the same year, the company also received IEC Certification

International Electrotechnical Commission

The International Electrotechnical Commission is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology"...

 (IEC 61646 and 61730) of its flexible CIGS

CIGS

CIGS may refer to:* Chief of the Imperial General Staff, a pre-1964 military position in the British Army* Copper indium gallium selenide , a semiconductor absorber material for solar cells...

 solar panels, again an industry first.

Company history

SoloPower was founded by Bulent Basol and Homayoun Talieh in 2006. The company started its pilot manufacturing line in December of the same year.

In 2010, SoloPower held talks with the town of Wilsonville, Oregon

Wilsonville, Oregon

Wilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County. Originally founded as Boones Landing due to the Boones Ferry which crossed the Willamette River at the location, the community became Wilsonville in...

 to set up a manufacturing plant there. In 2011, the United States Department of Energy

United States Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...

 approved a $197 Million Loan Guarantee to the company, enabling a 400MW manufacturing plant in Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. In May 2011, SoloPower decided to move the manufacturing facility to Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 instead.

Funding

The Norwegian firms Convexa Capital, Spencer Energy and Scatec have invested approximately $30 Million into SoloPower in 2007. The United States Department of Energy

United States Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...

has also funded the company. In early 2011, the company received $13.5 Million from Crosslink Capital.