ABC: Norcross-based solar company inks deal for ‘aerotropolis’
Suniva’s products will help supply 10 MW of power to massive redevelopment of shuttered Hapeville Ford plant.
Big news for Suniva, a solar-cell company headquartered in Norcross.
Urvaksh Karkaria and Douglas Sams report:
Norcross, Ga.-based Suniva Inc. will supply solar cells to Aerotropolis Atlanta, a planned 130-acre mixed-use redevelopment of the former Hapeville Ford plant.
The deal could be worth “tens of millions of dollars,” said Jim Jacoby, developer of 6.5 million-square-foot aviation-intensive business district that is expected to include office, retail, restaurant, hotel and airport parking. The site is adjacent to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Suniva, a Georgia Tech startup, claims to have a lower-cost way to make solar cells.
The company, which snagged nearly $1 billion in orders from Indian and European solar module makers, has developed technology to make solar cells that can transform more of the sun’s energy into the juice that powers today’s plugged-in world.
The solar infrastructure is expected to satiate up to half of the development’s electricity needs. Longer term, Jacoby said, he plans to sell excess power generated at Aerotropolis to surrounding developments.
Jacoby also plans to install solar cells in other projects, including at Atlantic Station — the developer’s best know redevelopment project.