Shares of SatCon Technology Corporation (Nasdaq: SATC) jumped up today after news of its teaming with SolarCraft to install its solar energy system at Paramount Farms Inc. was announced early this morning. SATC closed up 14 cents (13 percent) at $1.24 per share on volume of 346,587.
The company reported that its PowerGate commercial grade inverters have been installed as an integral part of a SolarCraft installed 1.1 Megawatt solar energy system at Paramount Farms, the world’s largest vertically integrated supplier of pistachios and almonds. The installation, located in California’s San Joaquin Valley, spans 8 acres and is reportedly one of the largest single-site, privately-owned solar energy systems in the U.S.
“SolarCraft selected SatCon for this job because we have had a great deal of success at many other commercial installations with this inverter brand,” stated Chris Bunas – vice president of SolarCraft’s Solar Electric Division – in a press release.
This solar system enables Paramount Farms to generate enough clean electricity each day to power 300 average homes. The new system will spare the air nearly 2,600 tons of harmful greenhouse gases annually. Over the next 30 years, the air pollution saved will be equivalent to driving over 176 million miles.
With over 4,000 commercial and residential installations to its credit, SolarCraft has installed more solar energy systems than any other company in California’s North Bay. SolarCraft installs over 200 solar energy systems per year.
“SatCon has become our main choice for commercial inverters because of their high performance, ease of installation and smaller overall packaging. So far, the two 500 kW inverters at Paramount Farms have been performing beyond expectations,” concluded Bunas.
SATC is a developer and manufacturer of electronics and generators/motors for the Renewable Energy, Hybrid-Electric Vehicle, Grid Support, High Reliability Electronics and Advanced Power Technology markets.