17 Facts About Solyndra

Solyndra was a manufacturer of cylindrical panels of copper indium gallium selenide thin film solar cells based in Fremont, California.

Heavily promoted as a leader in the Clean Energy sector for its unusual technology, Solyndra was not able to compete with conventional solar panel manufacturers of crystalline silicon.

Solyndra designed, manufactured, and sold solar photovoltaic systems composed of panels and mounting hardware for large, low-slope commercial rooftops.

Solyndra rolled its CIGS thin films into a cylindrical shape and placed 40 of them in each 1-by-2-metre panel.

Solyndra designers thought the cylindrical solar panels absorbed energy from any direction.

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Solyndra used equipment it had developed to deposit CIGS on the outside of the inner tube, which includes up to 200 CIGS cells.

The daily production of flat solar panels has an output curve that has a clear peak while Solyndra claimed their system produced more power throughout the day.

Solyndra claimed that wind and snow loads are negligible and that its panels are lighter in weight per area.

Solyndra did not post any numbers about performance when the cells are rolled up.

Solyndra stated the total count was 14 systems and that these systems were each instrumented with sensitive radiation, wind speed, temperature, and humidity measurement devices to aid in the development of energy yield forecasting software tools.

The company's website claimed there were more than 1,000 Solyndra systems installed around the world, representing 100 megawatts of power.

Solyndra took the reins on July 27,2010, less than a year before the company went bankrupt.

Solyndra received a $535 million US Department of Energy loan guarantee, the first recipient of a loan guarantee under President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

On November 3,2010, Solyndra said it would lay off around 40 employees and not renew contracts for about 150 temporary workers as a result of the consolidation.

Also in 2011, a US Department of the Treasury official confirmed that the criminal probe of Solyndra was focused on whether the company and its officers misrepresented the firm's finances to the government in seeking the loan or engaged in accounting fraud.

In 2012 a very small fraction of the glass tubes, which Solyndra had produced, became part of an art installation at the University of California Botanical Garden.

Some sources report none of the investigations into Solyndra found any evidence of wrongdoing or undue political influence.