Global Solar Power Generation

Applied Materials is one of the largest purchasers of green power from Silicon Valley Power; at the end of 2009, approximately 21% of the energy used at its Santa Clara facilities came from green power purchases.  The company’s Sunnyvale solar installation provides an additional 4% of green energy toward the total electricity used on the R&D campus.

Approximately 8,000 wafer-based solar panels were used in an area of more than two football fields in size; the panels are manufactured by Sunpower Corporation using Applied Materials equipment

The tracking system in the parking lot uses GPS technology to follow the sun throughout the day, increasing sunlight capture by 30 percent over conventional systems.  The panels are the most efficient on the market today, with the rooftop panels providing 18 percent conversion efficiencies and the parking lot tracker panels providing 20 percent conversion efficiencies. The electricity generated is equivalent to that used by approximately 1,500 homes. The panels replace an amount of carbon equivalent to the emissions of 450 passenger cars for one year or that absorbed by 667 acres of pine forests.

Learn more about the roof top solar array on the Applied Materials' Arques Campus and view real time data about the installation and its energy generation and environmental benefits.

Learn more about the parking lot solar array on the Applied Materials' Arques Campus and view real time data about the installation and its energy generation and environmental benefits.

The pollution-free panels eliminate 54,390 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, roughly the equivalent of planting eight acres and, while at the time of installation, were the largest array ever installed at an Austin business site.

Learn more about the Harris Branch solar array on Applied Materials' Austin campus and view real time data on the installation's energy generation and environmental benefits.

The completed facility includes a solar technology center for R&D, engineering, product demonstration, testing and training for crystalline silicon and thin film solar module manufacturing equipment and processes. The center has the largest solar array in Xi’an, a 56 kilowatt solar array on a parking lot structure.  The solar array helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 65 tons per year.

Learn more about the solar array on Applied Materials Solar Technology Center and view real time data on the installation's energy generation and environmental benefits.

The Center features the largest thin film solar system in Singapore, a 400 kilowatt peak system that annually generates 450 megawatt hours of electricity – enough energy to power more than 100 apartments for a year.

This system uses 5.7m2 PV solar panels, the most powerful in the world. Other fixtures include low-e glass curtain walls and a rainwater recycling system. These and other features are expected to result in energy savings of up to 30%.

Learn more about the Singapore Operations Center solar array and view real time data on the installation's energy generation and environmental benefits.