SunPower Corporation today announced that systems integrator Kubokura Densetsu Co. Ltd. has signed a supply agreement for its T5 Solar Roof Tile. Kubokura will install the T5 Solar Roof Tile on four leased rooftops in the Kanagawa Prefecture. Utilizing the country's new feed-in-tariff, Kubokura will sell the electricity generated by the 540-kilowatt solar systems back to the grid through the local utility. The clean energy generated will be enough to serve more than 180 homes.
Tilted at a five-degree angle, the T5 Solar Roof Tile is the industry's first all-in-one, non-penetrating photovoltaic rooftop product that combines solar panel, frame and mounting system into a single pre-engineered unit. The T5 Solar Roof Tile interlocks for wind resistance and secure installation; its patented design is adaptable to virtually any flat or low-slope rooftop. Integrated into the T5 Solar Roof Tile is the high efficiency E20 / 327 Solar Panel by SunPower Corporation.
"We are well positioned in the Japanese market with our high-efficiency technology, and with our first T5 Solar Roof Tile supply agreement, we'll increase our share of the rapidly-expanding commercial rooftop segment," said Tom Werner, SunPower Corporation president and CEO. "Kubokura and the utility will benefit from SunPower's leading technology, more than a quarter century of experience and our commitment to guaranteed performance."
"We chose the T5 Solar Roof Tile system because it gave us maximum installed capacity on limited rooftop space," said Satoshi Kubokura, senior managing director. "With 20 percent efficiency solar panels integrated into the all-in-one system, coupled with a non-penetrating installation that does not require anchoring the system to the roof, the T5 Solar Roof Tile is easy to install and minimizes waterproofing and structural risks on the rooftop surface."
Kubokura will begin system construction at the end of this year and expects completion next February.
SunPower Corporation will feature its T5 Solar Roof Tile at PV Japan, being held in Chiba on December 5 through 7, in booth P09-802.