Company Information

Our Business

Solar Integrated Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”, “we” or “us”) is a leading designer, manufacturer and installer of power-generating building-integrated photovoltaic (“BIPV”) roofing systems for non-residential building customers with flat or low-slope rooftops. We commercially market and sell an innovative and proprietary BIPV roofing system that combines flexible thin-film solar laminates with a single-ply roofing membrane for the non-residential building market. Flexible, thin-film solar technology makes our products lighter, easier to install and more durable than conventional rigid crystalline PV solar systems. Our BIPV roofing system enables customers to transform a traditional rooftop into a value-generating asset.

Our Vision

Our vision is to be a global solar powerhouse.

Our Mission

Our mission is to create extraordinary value for customers, employees, partners and security holders by leveraging our first mover position to become the leading global provider of solar roofing and related energy products and services for customers with non-residential applications.

Our Customers and Install Base

Our customers include Carrefour, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Frito-Lay, Honeywell, Metro, ProLogis, San Diego Unified School District, Tesco, Toyota, Unibail-Rodamco, UPC Solar, U.S. Air Force, U.S. GSA, U.S. Navy, Wal-Mart and Westfield. As of June 30, 2007, we have sold BIPV roofing systems into approximately 130 projects in the United States, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland, aggregating more than 12 MW of installed BIPV product.

Our History

The Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on January 24, 2002. We were formed out of a successful private roofing company based in Southern California. For over 20 years, this roofing company focused on marketing and installing energy-efficient single-ply roofing products to the traditional non-residential flat and low-slope roofing market in Southern California. During this period, its founders established strong roofing industry relationships, including with suppliers and customers with large property portfolios. In 2000, its founders began reviewing various technical solutions to develop a BIPV roofing system for the non-residential building market. We began commercial operations in 2003.

Our heritage provides significant credibility with our customers as they often seek to identify a comprehensive solar roofing solution, rather than a stand-alone after-market solar product. We believe that we are uniquely positioned to understand and address our customers’ solar roofing needs. Not only do we understand the customer’s energy and environmental objectives, we also understand their roofing requirements.

BIPV Roofing System

Our typical BIPV roofing system integrates the following third-party components:

Flexible Thin-Film Solar Laminates – We purchases flexible thin-film amorphous solar laminates, made from silane gas and therefore not impacted by the current global shortages of polysilicon, which is used in conventional PV systems. The flexibility of these laminates allows us to install our BIPV roofing system on roofs of varying size and shape. These laminates come with a 20-year warranty from the manufacturer, United Solar Ovonic, a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices.

Single-ply roofing membrane – We purchase a lightweight, durable, single-ply roofing membrane made out of either industrial grade waterproof polyvinyl chloride, known as either PVC or vinyl, or industrial grade waterproof thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer, known as TPO. We source our roofing membranes from Sika Sarnafil and they have been in commercial use for over 40 years.

Specialized Adhesives – We purchase specialized adhesives designed to our specifications in order to bond the thin-film solar laminates to the single ply roofing membrane.

Other Components – We purchase the remaining components for our BIPV roofing system which include wire harnesses, wires, conduits, fuses, safety disconnects, batteries and inverters.

Proven Product Offering Tailored to Target Customer Base

We target customers with large property portfolios who are typically interested in buying integrated, comprehensive solar roofing solutions for the flat or low-sloping rooftops of their non-residential buildings. Our customers typically have requirements and budgeted capital for high-quality, energy-efficient roofs, and an interest in solar roofing technologies as a way to reduce their peak energy costs and hedge their long-term exposure to expected increases in peak grid electricity costs.

Our products are specifically designed to address the market requirements as follows:

     

Integrated Solution to Meet Solar and Roofing Needs

Unlike after-market solar panel providers, we sell our customers an integrated BIPV roofing solution that meets both their roofing and onsite solar power requirements.

Light Weight

Our BIPV roofing system weighs approximately 12 ounces per square foot as compared to 4-7 pounds per square foot for conventional framed crystalline solar panels. Many rooftops of large non-residential buildings cannot support the heavier weight of conventional framed crystalline solar panels without costly structural modifications and without numerous rooftop penetrations to secure these heavy panels.

No Roofing Penetrations

The rooftop penetrations typically required for heavy crystalline solar panels may compromise the integrity of the existing roofing membrane, making the roofs susceptible to water leaks. By contrast, our BIPV roofing system forms the top layer of the customer’s roof with no roofing penetrations, thereby preserving the roof’s structural integrity and aesthetics

Durability and Reliability

Our BIPV roofing systems are more durable than conventional, glass-based solar module roofing systems. Our BIPV roofing systems are rolled for storage and shipping, and can be dropped without risk of destroying the product. Our installation and maintenance crews can walk on the finished product without any risk of damaging the system. Our BIPV roofing system is manufactured with a durable industrial-grade membrane that is well-suited for a variety of climates. In addition, unlike conventional crystalline solar panels, our BIPV roofing systems incorporate a bypass technology feature which enables it to produce power even when one or more solar cells of a laminate are damaged.

Increased Power Production

In contrast to conventional crystalline solar modules, flexible thin-film solar modules can generate electricity in low ambient light conditions without requiring direct sun rays. As a result, the flexible thin-film solar laminates that we use in our BIPV roofing system can produce up to 20% more kilowatt hours of electricity per rated kilowatt of power output than conventional crystalline solar modules.

Ease of Installation and Maintenance

Unlike most conventional crystalline PV systems, our BIPV roofing system does not require a complex mounting bracket structure or support frames and easily rolls flat onto the building’s roof surface to create a smooth, seamless appearance. As a result, our BIPV roofing system is easier to install than, conventional crystalline PV systems. In addition, unlike time-consuming and costly removal of mounted conventional crystalline PV systems that can be highly disruptive to building operations, our BIPV roofing systems enable easy and cost-effective access to the roofing deck in the event of roof maintenance, repair or replacement.

Proven Technologies

Our BIPV roofing system is comprised of flexible, thin-film amorphous solar laminates, which we purchase from United Solar Ovonic, and a single-ply roofing membrane, which we purchase from Sika Sarnafil. The flexible thin-film solar modules that we integrate into our BIPV roofing system were initially developed some 30 years ago, have been used in commercial applications for decades, and are installed at numerous locations worldwide. The single-ply roofing membrane that we integrate into our BIPV roofing system has been on the market for some 40 years. At this time, we are not aware of any direct competitor in North America that is offering a BIPV roofing system that integrates flexible thin-film amorphous PV with a single-ply roofing membrane with a 20-year warranty for our target market.

Manufacturing Process

Since commencing operations in Los Angeles, California, in 2003, we have been focused on executing a quality management system that controls processes related to product design, manufacturing, certification, marketing and sales of its proprietary BIPV roofing systems. In November 2005, we announced that we had achieved International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2000 certification for our quality management system. The certification is for the design, manufacture and marketing of proprietary BIPV roofing systems for commercial roofing and portable solar applications worldwide.

Through a proprietary manufacturing process, including the application of specialized hot-melt adhesives under pressure, we adheres the flexible thin-film amorphous silicon PV modules to the lightweight and durable single-ply roofing membrane. We then connect a wire harness to the membrane and it is ready to be transferred from our production plant and installed on the roofing deck.

A summary of our production process flow is noted and visually depicted in detail below:

     

Step 1: Plasma treatment – sweeping flame treatment to clean the backside of the PV laminates to remove impurities and to raise the surface tension to allow for a more effective adhesion process.
 

Step 2: Lamination – laminates are adhered to a master roll of single-ply roofing membrane under pressure using a specialized hot-melt adhesive.
 

Step 3: Curing – the laminated BIPV panel is provided a certain curing period
 

Step 4: Edge Sealing – an edge sealant is applied to the edges of the laminates to provide further protection from moisture and sun influence.
 

Step 5: Wiring – the wiring harness is attached, along with a cast polyamide housing over the wiring solder points, and an additional membrane patch over the series interconnection area.

BIPV System Installation

For most of our U.S. projects, we contract for the supply, installation and maintenance of the BIPV roofing system. For these projects, we typically install the BIPV roofing system onto the building’s structural deck. The structural deck is typically comprised of wood, steel or concrete. A typical BIPV roof assembly is comprised of rigid insulation or ISO board placed on top of the structural deck with the electrical wire inside the conduit which is embedded within the ISO board. A cementatious, protective layer called Densdeck™ is installed on top of the ISO board. The single-ply roofing membrane and the integrated solar roof panels are then installed on top of the insulation and densdeck. The entire assembly is mechanically fastened to the structural deck with all seams and laps hot-air welded utilizing roofing industry best-practices. Once complete the entire assembly provides a water-tight, fully integrated BIPV roofing solution. This fully-integrated BIPV roofing solution forms and becomes part of the customer’s building envelope. We also typically install the balance of system and our proprietary REM system.

Our typical installation configuration is depicted below: