Suniva Opens the South’s First Solar Cell Factory

(BUSINESS WIRE)--At a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning, Suniva Inc., a manufacturer of high value crystalline silicon solar cells, officially opened the first solar factory in the Southeastern US with the help of Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Located in the Atlanta metro area, Suniva’s manufacturing facility will create over 100 high-paying, permanent green jobs by year-end 2009 and even more as it ramps to full production capacity in 2010.

Governor Perdue spoke at the event about the company’s importance to the state economy and Georgia’s presence on the national energy stage, “With patents developed in the laboratories of Georgia Tech, Suniva’s story is a prime example of how Georgia can lead the nation by teaming the strengths of public and private institutions,” said Governor Perdue. “Georgia made a strong commitment to the clean energy industry through its Energy Innovation Center and Bioenergy Corridor, and Suniva’s new facility makes us one of the first states in the nation manufacturing solar cell technology.”

Today’s announcement comes at a crossroads in the nation’s pursuit of new energy policies during tough economic times. President-elect Barack Obama and his transition team have discussed advancing the new energy economy as part of the US’s economic recovery plan. As a company whose major intellectual property was developed in a government-funded lab, Suniva is a stand out example of how government-backed initiatives can generate new US-based companies and facilitate the growth of renewable energy production and adoption.

Suniva’s founder and CTO, Dr. Ajeet Rohatgi, who is also the founder and director of Georgia Tech’s University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education (UCEP) funded directly through the Department of Energy (DOE), spoke at the event: “Though Suniva is barely a year old, in some ways today’s ceremony is twenty years in the making. My life’s work in advancing solar technologies has been made possible as a direct result of government funding and involvement with Georgia Tech. Suniva is the realization of all those years of hard work.”

In October — less than six months after announcing plans to build a manufacturing facility — Suniva completed installation of its first production line in this new facility and began shipping its proprietary ARTisun™ solar cells. Suniva’s solar cells are delivered to solar module manufacturers around the world under existing contracts worth over USD$1B.

“As the U.S. economy retools to become an international leader in the new energy economy, Suniva stands at the forefront, supplying a superior homegrown product to the international solar industry,” said John Baumstark, CEO of Suniva. “With our first factory officially open today, we are driving down the cost of solar and keeping clean energy technology and jobs in the US.”

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UGA's Newest Eminent Scholar to Expand Bioenergy Research Efforts

Harry Gilbert, who has worked extensively on carbohydrate enzymes, focusing primarily on how these biocatalysts contribute to plant cell wall degradation, has joined the University of Georgia's Complex Carbohydrate Research Center as the latest Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.

Gilbert, who comes to UGA from the Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences at Newcastle University, joins faculty in the CCRC who seek to unravel the secrets of cellulosic biomass, a basic component of green plants and a key to the mass production of biofuels. The group's primary goal is to make lignocellulosic-based ethanol cost-competitive with gasoline, thereby reducing the nation's gasoline consumption by some 20 percent in the decade ahead.

"The search committee chaired by Professor Michael Adams, of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, set a very high bar of recruiting the world's best scientist working in this area," said UGA Vice President for Research David Lee. "We are all delighted that they hit the mark. Professor Gilbert is a world-class scholar with diverse interests and a highly creative mind. He will add considerably to our bioenergy initiative."

A native of England, Gilbert earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry and a B.S. in physiology and biochemistry at the University of Southhampton. He worked in a research institute as a biochemist and a microbiologist before entering academia at Newcastle University in 1985. Since then he has conducted research and taught courses in genetics, biotechnology, transgenic animal technology, enzymology, carbohydrate biochemistry and biomedical sciences.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to work with this group of knowledgeable scientists," said Gilbert. "My research looks specifically at the degradation of cell walls, and I look forward to developing synergistic interactions with colleagues who are working on other aspects of carbohydrate research."

Gilbert has published a number of peer-reviewed research articles on the enzymology of plant cell wall degradation, and has held several patents on the use of xylanases in the paper industry. Xylanases are a class of enzymes that aid the breakdown of hemicellulose, a major component of the cell wall of plants.

"We are so pleased that UGA has hired Professor Gilbert as a GRA Eminent Scholar in Bioenergy," said Alan Darvill, Regents Professor and director of UGA's Complex Carbohydrate Research Center. "He brings to Georgia a wealth of knowledge and expertise in understanding the deconstruction of biomass by microbial enzymes that could result in novel methods to produce biofuels."

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Georgia's Forest Industry Contributions Recognized

Governor Sonny Perdue has proclaimed October 19-25 National Forest Products Week,
highlighting the Georgia Forestry industry’s $28.5 billion impact on the state in 2007. According to statistics released by The Georgia Institute of Technology, the Forestry industry also provided
employment for more than 141,000 Georgians and compensation of $6.7 billion to employees and proprietors.

“Our state is one of the nation’s leading pulp and paper producers,” said Nathan McClure, Forest
Marketing Director for the Georgia Forestry Commission. “While the building products industry is being affected by downturns in real estate, the outlook is for positive future growth in relation to bioenergy.”

According to the report, the “Manufactured housing” economic impact sector posted the greatest
loss between 2006 and 2007 at 14.7%. “Pulp and Paper” and “Packaging” were two sectors that
experienced gains during 2007, reflecting increases in wood products exports.

Georgia ships more than $16 billion of forest products, such as lumber, paper, paperboard and
allied products every year. The report shows local economies of 37 Georgia counties are “very” or
“critically” dependant on the forest manufacturing industry. The Forest Industry ranks second in Georgia behind food processing when considering compensation to employees and proprietors. Forestry ranks third behind textiles and food processing when considering number of employees.

“Construction is continuing on the state’s first commercial scale pine-to-ethanol production plant in Soperton,” said McClure. “Plans have also been announced to build five pine-to-electricity plants in the state. Our rural forestry economy can be expected to improve as more investments are made in Georgia’s Bioenergy Corridor.”

The complete 2007 Economic Impact of Forest Products Manufacturing in Georgia report can be
viewed at GaTrees.org/Forest Marketing/Doing Business in Georgia.

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Forest Biotechnology Expert Comes to UGA, Tsai Working to Expand Tree Biofuel Technology

The University of Georgia’s bioenergy initiative has received a boost with the successful recruitment of forestry scientist Chung-Jui Tsai, who joins the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources as the latest Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.

Tsai now holds the Winfred N. “Hank” Haynes Professorship in forest biotechnology. Her research will emphasize creating high-energy yielding trees for use in biofuel, she said, hopefully leading the industry toward using trees as a power source instead of ethanol from food crops.

“Biofuel will be a wonderful opportunity to revitalize the forest industry,” Tsai said, explaining that grain ethanol has had a detrimental impact on other consumer goods. “Food prices have gone crazy because of the grain ethanol—food prices and animal feed.”

A native of Taiwan, Tsai has a Ph.D. in forest science from Michigan Technological University, where she also taught for 11 years in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences. She was the director of the interdisciplinary Biotechnology Research Center at MTU from 2002 to 2007.

Tsai has published dozens of peer-reviewed articles and holds five patents that involve methods for modifying lignin, the key component that acts as glue in trees but also hinders efforts to extract the much-desired cellulose, which is vital to biofuel production.

Jeff Dean, a Warnell professor of forest biotechnology, noted that Tsai has established a respected program for the study of metabolic pathways leading to lignin and other phenolic compounds in woody plants.

“These molecules greatly impact our ability to efficiently utilize plant materials for the production of biomaterials and bioenergy,” Dean said. “Dr. Tsai’s expertise in this area is highly complementary to existing research programs in several departments and schools across the campus, and her addition to the faculty should serve to catalyze significant innovation as Georgia strives to become a leader in the field of biomass utilization.”

David Lee, vice president for research at UGA, and Michael Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance, believe that Tsai will strengthen Georgia’s emerging biofuels economy.

“Dr. Tsai’s recruitment strengthens an important dimension of our bioenergy initiative,” Lee said. “UGA is well positioned to discover sustainable and efficient approaches to biofuels production, and C.J. will be an important part of our team. Also, she has a history of making the latest biotechnology advances available to colleagues. We expect she will play a similar role at UGA.”

“Dr. Tsai’s expertise in developing trees as the feedstock for biofuels has enormous potential for making Georgia a leader in this critical area,” Cassidy said. “Her insight as a scientist and her commitment to advancing the state’s vital forestry industry exemplify what we seek in a GRA Eminent Scholar.”

Tsai’s research will not stop at biofuel. She said her interests expand into other tree studies, such as how they defend themselves by using chemical compounds to ward off bugs and grazing animals. Determining how that works, she said, could lead to the creation of “smarter trees, which have great ecological implications because they interact with so many organisms.”

As part of its mission to leverage university research for economic development purposes, GRA provides the universities with funds to help recruit scientists, known as Eminent Scholars, whose research can yield economic benefit to the state. Tsai is UGA’s 16th Eminent Scholar.

Sandi Martin

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