United Solar Completes PV Systen on Rooftop of Sisley

2010-10-10

United Solar has completed one of the largest solar installations in Paris, France on the rooftop of Sisley, the global luxury cosmetic brand. United Solar, working closely with renowned building material companies, secured this installation with its channel partner Soprema, a major modified bitumen roofing material expert in France. Soprema's modified roofing material, SopraSolar, is powered by UNI-SOLAR, integrating their PV laminates into the waterproofing function.

Once running, the 848 kWp project will power the equivalent of 181 households annually, while drastically lowering Sisley's carbon footprint. Panhard Development S.A.S., the lead developer on the building's new construction and a pioneer in France's HQE (Haute Qualite Environnementale) sustainable building standard was responsible for the decision to use UNI-SOLAR photovoltaic laminates.

Sisley headquarters includes six building rooftop sections totaling 45,000 square meters (485,000 square feet) and 35,000 square meters (377,000 square feet) of which are covered by the UNI-SOLAR powered SopraSolar bituminous PV membrane. This combination is critical in France, where higher feed-in tariffs apply for Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) -- requiring the solar system to take over part of the building envelope's function.

According to Christian Kopp, Development Director of PANHARD Realisation, "This decision was based on the load restrictions of the roof and the high rate of diffuse sunlight in the Paris region. UNI-SOLAR's PV laminates addressed both issues by being extremely lightweight without adding additional wind loads. Additionally, due to the triple-junction amorphous silicon technology, these PV modules are able to capture more sunlight under non-optimal orientation and diffuse light levels, generating the highest energy yields under real outdoor conditions."

The project owner made the decision to install solar because being green is important to their image and part of their social and environmental responsibility program, SER.