Applied Materials says new solar power system will replace about 10 percent of the electricity it now buys.

ENERGY
Largest corporate solar array installed in California
Applied Materials says new solar power system will replace about 10 percent of the electricity it now buys.

By Bob KeefeWEST COAST BUREAU Saturday, September 20, 2008
Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. has flipped the switch on what it says is the largest solar power array at any U.S. corporation.

The 2.1-megawatt system that covers parking lots and the tops of two buildings at Applied's Sunnyvale, Calif., campus bests a 1.6-megawatt array a few miles away at the headquarters of Google Inc., that previously was the nation's biggest corporate solar power array.

One megawatt is enough energy to supply power to about 1,000 average-sized houses. According to Applied, its new solar power system will replace about 10 percent of the electricity it buys for its corporate headquarters.
The system also is expected to eliminate 2,700 tons of carbon emissions annually — the equivalent of taking about 450 passenger cars off the road.
"We've converted our parking lots to power plants," Applied chief executive Mike Splinter said in a statement.

Last year, Applied installed a 24.6-kilowatt solar array at its corporate campus in Austin. Although much smaller than the California installation, the Texas array was the biggest in Austin.

Applied spokesman Dave Miller said the company is planning an expansion of its Austin system but hasn't set a timetable yet.
It's no coincidence that Applied is a big fan of solar. The company, the world's biggest maker of equipment for the semiconductor industry, expanded into the solar fabrication equipment business nearly four years ago and now gets about 10 percent of its revenue from equipment it sells to the solar panel industry.

Applied recently introduced its SunFab line of machines that are designed to make giant solar panels that are nearly 19 square feet in size.
Ironically, the new array at Applied's headquarters doesn't contain SunFab panels. That's because Applied customers just recently began using the first SunFab machines and are only now bringing the first panels made with them to market, Miller said.
"We just don't have them yet," Miller said. "We'll be adding them in the future."
That doesn't mean Applied didn't have an inside track on a good deal for its new solar power system, however.

The equipment is made by SunPower Corp., a subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. Cypress is a big customer of Applied's.
SunPower also uses equipment and technology developed by Baccini SpA, an Italian company that Applied purchased in November 2007.