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and other light industrial roofs which are not designed to support significant additional rooftop weight.


Solyndra’s panels are composed of unique cylindrical modules that allow wind to pass through, which eliminates the need for heavy brackets, weights, and roof surface penetrations that are common with traditional solar modules. When installed in conjunction with white “cool roofs”, the Solyndra solution combines both power generation and the energy efficiency benefits of a reflective roof surface while preserving the integrity of the roof surface.


In addition, Solyndra systems can be easily moved in the case of re-roofing, building retrofit or ownership change, which is particularly important to many real estate owners that wish to receive the cash flow benefits of hosting a solar system without encumbering the sale of the property in the future.


Photon Solar intends to complete construction of the 18 rooftop systems comprising the 16.2 MW project during 2011. Construction of these PV systems is subject to California Public Utility Commission approval, financing of the project, certain permitting, and other customary closing conditions.


GE Wins $7 Million Contract To Produce SiC Power Switches


The project includes the design, development, fabrication, test and shipment of a prototype solid state electrical distribution unit under a USAF Contract.


GE Aviation has secured a Research and Development contract worth more than $7 million. The firm will provide what it claims will be the first solid-state primary power distribution technology using Silicon Carbide (SiC) power switches applicable to the latest and future United States Air Force (USAF)platforms. The contracting office is Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Air Force Research Laboratories in Ohio.


“Solid-state switching is critical to the Smart-Grid concept of intelligent power management, control and protection,” said Austin Schaffter, VP, Electrical


78 www.compoundsemiconductor.net August/September 2010


NIST Technology Inches Towards GaN Nanowire Mass Production


The scientists claim the nanowires maintained a pure and defect-free crystal structure while controlling diameter and placement, making the technology a candidate for mass production.


Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have cultivated many thousands of nanocrystals in what looks like a pinscreen or “pin art” on silicon, a step toward reliable mass production of semiconductor nanowires for millionths-of-a-meter-scale devices such as sensors and lasers.


Power Systems for GE Aviation. “This is a critical win and proves that the technologies and products that we are investing in are at the cutting edge of the industry. Aircraft electrical power system designs and architectures are rapidly evolving toward higher degrees of both intelligence and fast control, and the SSEDU is a critical technology step in that evolutionary path.”


An electrical distribution unit, or EDU, is the first or primary power distribution point on an aircraft after the generators create the electrical power, and historically that initial power distribution has been accomplished by relatively slow electro-mechanical contactors.


Evidence is growing rapidly, however, that more electric aircraft need fast, intelligent switching at the primary distribution point in order to manage both peak power and regenerative energy absorption, and to perform system protections within as little as one milli-second. Accomplishing high-power switching this fast is possible with newly emerging SiC devices such as those being designed and developed at GE’s Global Research Center (GRC) in Niskayuna, NY.


The project includes the design, development, fabrication, test and shipment of a prototype solid state electrical distribution unit, and will be executed within GE’s advanced engineering group at the Vandalia, Ohio and Cheltenham, UK facilities.


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