News Article
Solar Frontier And Mainstream Energy Sign U.S. Distribution Agreement
Solar Frontier has announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Mainstream Energy to sell and install 5 megawatts (MW) of Solar Frontier's CIS modules beginning in the fourth quarter of 2011. The agreement with Mainstream Energy provides Solar Frontier with a significant presence throughout the United States.
"Mainstream Energy's mission is to bring solar to the mainstream by making solar easy and affordable to a wide range of customers, with excellent quality, service and cost," said Ethan Miller, Vice President of Operations for Mainstream Energy. "Solar Frontier will enhance our ability to deliver on this promise with Solar Frontier's exceptionally high-quality economical and ecological CIS modules. These modules also happen to be among the most aesthetically pleasing, thanks to their all black appearance."
Mainstream's success has been built through an integrated business model combining financing services, sales, design, installation, service, and monitoring of complete solar electricity systems with value-added distribution of solar products, deep engineering talent and support, and the development of proprietary market-leading downstream products. With turnkey solar electricity systems for residential, commercial, government and utility customers, and a network of more than 3,000 independent installers in the U.S., Mainstream Energy has installed more than 100 MW of PV and over 7,500 completed system installations since 1997.
"This agreement is a great milestone for Solar Frontier's operations in the U.S.," said Greg Ashley, chief operating officer of Solar Frontier Americas. "We believe that the U.S. solar market has great potential for growth, and Mainstream represents an acceleration of Solar Frontier's expansion in the United States, especially as more and more customers recognize the superior value of kilowatt hours performance over kilowatt peak ratings."
The CIS thin-film modules that will be used in the distribution agreement are produced with Solar Frontier's proprietary technology at the world's largest CIS factory in Miyazaki, Japan. The solar panels produced by this factory have the highest energy conversion efficiency of any thin-film PV available in large volumes. Known for the extreme high quality manufacturing standards of Japan's best manufacturers, and high performance in a wide range of climates, the modules have been installed on thousands of rooftops and large-scale power facilities all over the world.
