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Press Release: Oct. 22, 2009

PV Powered Announces Collaborative Relationships to Advance DC-to-DC Power Optimization Technology

PV Powered, Inc., an industry leader in solar inverter reliability, performance, installability, and serviceability announces a collaborative effort with eIQ Energy, Tigo Energy, and Phobos Energy to evaluate and advance DC-to-DC technology with an optimized inverter and system solution.

As the solar industry shifts from first cost to lifetime return-on-investment metrics, customers are increasingly aware of the financial value of performance over the operating life of a system. System design limitations, panel mismatch and degradation, and environmental issues such as shading and soiling can reduce maximum energy production and need to be addressed to accelerate solar adoption. DC-to-DC power optimization, which inserts smart electronics between the solar array and the inverter, is an emerging technology that has the potential to address these problems. “The benefits of DC-to-DC power optimization will be maximized when used with an optimized inverter,” says Steve Hummel, VP of Engineering for PV Powered. “We see an opportunity to increase energy production for our customers by collaborating with DC-to-DC technology companies to provide a complete system solution.”

PV Powered will leverage its deep expertise in power electronics, reliability engineering and grid interaction to identify and develop inverters that work seamlessly with DC-to-DC technology. PV Powered will optimize its inverter and data monitoring technology to work with a variety of distributed power management devices. “Customers want the ability to choose the technology that works best in their application,” says Gregg Patterson, CEO of PV Powered. “PV Powered is excited to be working with DC-to-DC technology innovators like eIQ Energy, Phobos Energy, and Tigo Energy, to support the adoption of this advanced technology and improve the economics of solar energy production.”

"We applaud PV Powered for its collaborative approach to improving the lifetime financial value of solar power installations by integrating distributed technologies," said Michael Lamb, VP of Business Development for eIQ Energy. "This type of work is an essential step toward making solar energy more cost effective, and eIQ Energy is proud that our Parallel Solar technology will be included. Like PV Powered, eIQ Energy is committed to solving customer problems, and we’re increasingly seeing parallel array wiring as a long-term foundation for cost-effective large-scale installations."

“Collaboration between companies providing inverters and DC optimizers will be important in driving mass market adoption,” said Pete Del Vecchio, CEO of Phobos Energy. “We’re excited about working with PV Powered to create a high-reliability, high-efficiency, system-level solution that provides benefits for all installations and is appropriate for next-generation solar architectures, including module-integrated electronics and BIPV.”

“Industry collaborations such as this will help drive the adoption of module-level system optimization technology,” said Sjuli Beekhuis, Director of Worldwide Channels at Tigo Energy. “Our collaboration means that customers can be sure that our products work well together in today’s new or retro-fit installations. As we move forward, we intend to develop new levels of optimization and integration for future large-scale projects.”

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