Solar companies are finding it more beneficial to work alongside others than alone.
Innovalight, a private solar company based in Sunnyvale, California, is being purchased by chemical company DuPont (NYSE: DD) to increase their market efficiency.
According to Bloomberg, DuPont’s solar output brings in about $1 billion, and with this acquisition the company hopes to double this by 2014.
Innovalight does not create solar panels, but it does have a valuable product that benefits the solar industry.
It produces a silicon ink that can be used with crystalline solar cells to increase solar cell efficiency.
In fact, the incorporation of this ink will increase efficiency up to 19%.
And this valuable product will add to the list of solar efficiency materials that DuPont sells, including pastes and films, according to Reuters.
DuPont will also use the ink in its own photovoltaic cells, expanding its solar output.
Westinghouse Solar Inc (NASDAQ: WEST) has also decided to work with another company to improve its sales.
In a joint venture with home-building company Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN), Westinghouse will supply home solar power systems for newly built homes in select areas.
It is part of Lennar’s “Everything’s Included” program, according to The Wall Street Journal’s “Market Watch”, a program that includes additional amenities like a solar power system in the home’s price.
This program has already started in certain Texas communities.
One of the things Westinghouse will provide is a solar air conditioning unit for the homes involved in the joint venture program.
As Barry Cinnamon, the CEO of Westinghouse Solar, told “Market Watch”, “Rooftop solar power – when combined with other energy efficient features – is the best way to maximize home energy efficiency”
As he indicates, the joint venture is done with the hope of increasing efficiency in homes, as well as increasing the use of renewables in doing so.
And it will improve the output of Westinghouse’s solar power systems.
After this announcement on Monday, Westinghouse was up 32%.
That’s all for now,
Brianna
