SunTechnics Establishes Subsidiary in the US

The European supplier of renewable energy solutions announced this week the establishment of a US headquarters in Sacramento, giving the company a presence on four continents.

With an anticipated installed peak output of solar systems exceeding 60 MW for 2005, SunTechnics is expanding internationally, having established subsidiaries in Portugal, Australia, and India earlier this year.

"The demand for energy in the USA is huge, primarily because of electrically powered air conditioning systems. For this reason we are initially focusing on grid-connected photovoltaic systems," said Karl-Heinz Tonges, CEO of the U.S. operations.

The US is currently the world's third-largest market for photovoltaic systems. In 2004, total new installations amounted to 84 MW, representing a 27 percent growth over the prior year. Around 80 percent of the systems were installed in California, where buyers of photovoltaic systems can receive rebates and tax incentives to bring down the price of installation by as much as 30 to 50 percent.

"Thanks to incentive programs and rising conventional energy prices, we are anticipating that the demand for photovoltaic systems will accelerate even faster in future. Our objective is to grow faster than the market," Tonges said.