Petra Solar, a company that makes hybrid solar and smart grid products for mounting on utility poles, signed a strategic agreement with AT&T (NYSE: T).
AT&T will now offer Petra Solar products as part of its offerings to utility companies. The deal is a major boost for Petra Solar, which occupies a unique niche in the solar and smart grid industries.
Petra Solar designs and manufactures the first smart grid interactive
solar electric system specifically designed for installation on utility
distribution poles. The Utility Grade SunWave™ UP Series
operate as individual power generation stations, combine solar power,
smart grid and power management technologies to allow utility companies to simultaneously address Renewable Portfolio
Standard requirements and invest in a smart grid technology.
Petra Solar's systems operate
on streetlight and utility poles, connecting directly to the grid's
secondary voltage lines at the pole.
Last July the N.J. Board of Public Utilities approved a contract between Petra Solar and New Jersey's largest utility, PSE&G, to generate 40MW of power through SunWave solar systems installed on up to 200,000 poles in New Jersey. The units are currently being installed throughout the state's six largest cities and 300 suburban communities and will be running on the AT&T wireless network.
Last month Petra Solar announced a manufacturing agreement with Flextronics (Nasdaq: FLEX). And in February, the company raised $40 million in funding.
AT&T is actively expanding its smart grid offerings. The communications company last month signed a similar agreement to offer smart grid technologies developed by the Current Group.
Michael Antieri, President of Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions at AT&T, said: "This new relationship with Petra Solar marks another step into integrating our wireless network capabilities with the benefits of smart grid technology and the leading-edge renewable energy solutions available today."
