Sponsors

UC Solar is pleased to have the support of the following sponsors:

APG Solar is a renewable energy provider, specializing in photovoltaic electricity generation and evacuated tube solar hot water systems. Based in Merced, we build state-of-the-art green power installations for residential, commercial, agricultural, and marine applications across California. Our troubleshooting team is known as the "go-to guys" in Central California for problems with any existing alternative energy system. APG has earned a reputation for delivering first-quality design, installation, and service to each and every customer, and we strive to maintain it.   

Baoxing Glassware Co. Ltd is dedicated to the production of borosilicate glass tubes. As one of the earliest borosilicate production facilities in China, its products are famous for meeting the strict standards of heat expansion and transparency requirements of high grade glass tubes used for solar thermal applications. At the scale of annual production of 37,000 tons of glass, the production line focuses on glass tubes up to 4.8 meters long. Baoxing continues to improve its technology via its cooperation with research institutes to provide glass tubes with various cross sections. It aims to lower the energy consumption during glass production and its carbon footprint with electrical glass ovens and advanced glass melting technologies. Located in the “glass tube valley” of China, Shandong province, it is one of the major glass tube suppliers for the current evacuated glass tube solar thermal collector market.

At Cool Earth Solar, we are reshaping solar technology, literally and philosophically. Our unique concentrated-photovoltaic (CPV) technology is designed to "tread lightly" on the landscape and to deliver solar power at a low cost to the environment and in dollars and cents. The key to Cool Earth Solar's CPV is an inflated solar concentrator made primarily of inexpensive and free materials. This design approach radically reduces material requirements as well cost and time.

Established in 1933 in Modesto, California, E. & J. Gallo Winery has become the world's foremost winery in the art of grape growing and winemaking; and in the distribution and marketing of wines worldwide. With seven wineries strategically located in various parts of California and access to grapes from vineyards in all of the premier grape-growing areas of California, Gallo produces wines in every category, to suit every taste. Gallo also imports wines from nine wine growing countries in the world. Gallo’s wine portfolio totals over 60 unique brands including Gallo Family Vineyards, Barefoot, Turning Leaf, Redwood Creek, Black Swan, Ecco Domani, Whitehaven, Clarendon Hills, Martín Códax, Don Miguel Gascón, Louis M. Martini, MacMurray Ranch, Mirassou and Rancho Zabaco. The company recently added distilled spirits to its portfolio with the introduction New Amsterdam Gin and Familia Camarena Tequila. 

Entech Solar is a leading developer of innovative, patented solar technologies, including sustainable daylighting solutions and concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) power systems for applications in commercial, industrial and utility markets and space CPV systems for power applications for NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense. Entech Solar designs, manufactures and markets the Entech Collimating Skylight, a state-of-the-art skylight that provides superior light output and optical efficiency for the commercial and industrial "green" building markets. In addition, the Company has developed concentrating solar modules that produce electricity from sunlight as part of the SolarVolt product line.

Gravity Power's goal is to solve a huge future societal need; clean energy generation must increase significantly from wind, solar and other renewable sources. Much of this generation is intermittent and must be matched to the needs of operating electric grids and thus be dispatchable power. This must be done to avoid an environmental emergency as growing global power markets will have a choice; build more coal and gas plants or build alot more renewable energy generation. For the degree of new renewable generation really required to be practically deployed, a huge amount of energy storage will be necessary. Based on the only widely deployed energy storage technology on the planet, pumped storage hydropower, the Gravity Power Module energy storage technology will provide clean energy storage-based peaking power and will match renewables to demand. We are committed to the future as one with clean, reliable power grids enabled by clean energy storage.

With an annual production of more than 16 million pump units, Grundfos is one of the world’s leading pump manufacturers. Circulator pumps for heating and air-conditioning and other centrifugal pumps for industry, water supply, waste water and dosing are some of the major product lines. Grundfos pumps, motors and controls are some of the most energy efficient in the world providing energy savings for every user. The new Water Technology Center in Fresno, CA transforms and bridges activities in government, research, academia, and small start-up companies into real-world solutions to water scarcity. 

InteLED Corp. was created by its four principals, who are passionate about the integration, design and marketing of high-efficiency LED lighting products. All together with over 50 years of experience, the InteLED team possesses the know-how in LED lighting product development with an expertise in optical enhancement through its proprietary optical software programs for the design of non-imaging optics for LED light sources. Through our technology development team, InteLED continues to invent and design novel non-imaging optics which have generated numerous patents. Many are available for licensing and ready to be integrated into LED lighting products that provide high efficiency and superb uniformity. 

Merced Irrigation District provides electricity to some 6,400 residences and 1,300 businesses in Merced County in Central California. MID currently operates a large‐scale hydroelectric project, holds a contract for wind sources and remains committed to the development of clean, renewable and ― above all else ― affordable energy. The electricity flowing through MID’s system comes with the benefit of competitively priced, low rates, provided by a public utility district, which is overseen by a locally elected board of directors. In addition to providing electric services, MID is comprised of irrigation and drainage operations, and parks and recreation. MID employs approximately 200 San Joaquin Valley residents and its irrigation water supply and operations directly and indirectly support approximately 3,600 jobs and $120 million in local agriculture revenue.

An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.

Tenkiv is a next generation technology company currently developing a new type of building which is self-powered and features a high level of automation. Founded in 2010, our primary mission is to make more energy available with greater intelligence. Based on Tenkiv's revolutionary PII Thermal Mechanism, we developed a series of new technologies to enable unparalleled power production, storage, distribution, and building integration. The PII Thermal Mechanism is a radical change in how we handle energy: it’s thermodynamically integrated, has practically unlimited scalability, and automatically disperses heat with extremely high efficiency. The Tenkiv System is controlled by our in-house developed, research grade, low cost DAC and DAQ board we call the Tendacq. By coupling the Tendacq with the Android platform and our intuitive software such as “Environment,” we created a feature-rich, no-compromise solution to building automation and interaction.

Transphorm is redefining electric power conversion, providing cost-competitive and easy-to-embed power conversion modules that reduce costly energy loss by up to 90 percent, and simplify the design and manufacturing of motor drives, power supplies and inverters for solar panels and electric vehicles. From material technology and device fabrication to circuit design and module assembly, Transphorm designs and delivers its power conversion devices and modules to meet the needs of global customers, helping them scale quickly and save money. By creating an ecosystem of electrical systems manufacturers powered by Transphorm, the company accelerates the adoption of application-specific power modules and paves the way for the next generation of electrical systems designed for optimal efficiency.

Village Power is a crowdfunded solar finance engine for the underserved commercial solar market. Schools, churches, clubs, universities and businesses with strong customer affiliation use the Village Power platform to go solar, reduce energy bills, and provide affiliated community members with stable, long-term and “green” financial returns.