You don't always think about the roofing industry as being at the center of the solar revolution, but more and more manufacturers are putting PV panels and membranes into roof tiles and other roofing products. Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., San Francisco, and Open Energy Corp., Solana Beach, Calif., recently entered into an exclusive agreement licensing the worldwide manufacture, distribution and marketing of Open Energy's building integrated solar roof tile product to Suntech. Open Energy granted Suntech an exclusive license for the intellectual property incorporated into its solar roof tile product and any similar or new generation tile roof products. The solar roof tiles are 50W four-foot BIPV (building-integrated photovoltaic) tiles and are available in different color panels. They are rated at 48W DC nominal power.
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