Rochester Hills, Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices (ECD), which manufactures thin-film photovoltaic laminates, recently announced it will be installing a 365-kilowatt building-integrated solar roofing system, also known as a BIPV, at East Los Angeles College (ELAC) as part of a contract with San Francisco, California-based Chevron Energy Solutions, the energy services provider for the project.

Energy Conversion Devices, which recently acquired Solar Integrated Technologies, makes proprietary photovoltaic rooftop membranes which integrate the function of solar panels and roofing materials like shingles. Sold under the brand name UNI-SOLAR®, these thin-film flexible solar laminates offer real-world durability and ease of installation.

As part of the project package, Chevron will also upgrade lighting, insulation and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) systems to deliver building-wide energy efficiency.

Energy Conversion Devices has also announced the installation of a new solar roof, sold under the trade name EnerGen(TM, described as a breakthrough solar roofing system), on the official residence of Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. EnerGen was developed through a joint venture with Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based CertainTeed Corporation, a leading U.S. building products manufacturer.

Another recent innovation by ECD is the UNI-SOLAR PowerTilt(TM) Solar Roof system, billed as the lightest rack-mounted solar system available today. The innovative, tilting system requires no roof penetration, thus insuring roof warranties remain intact.

Energy Conversion Devices has, like many solar companies, been struggling financially, reporting a downturn for its fiscal first quarter (ending Sept. 30) – the second straight downturn of the year, with sales coming in at half of projections, or $42.9 million. Net losses reached $11.8 million. Share prices fell 0.44 cents as well, to $11.05, down more than 70 percent from their low in November of 2008.

In the building integrated photovoltaic market, ECD now competes with such notables as Dow, Uni-Solar and Applied Solar. A future project, to install solar rooftops in Ontario, Canada, under the provinces new feed-in tariff – in conjunction with MP2 Capital, a venture financing company, and Rumble Energy, an Ontario-based renewable energy developer – adds to ECD’s growing portfolio of projects and will hopefully enable ECD and its wholly owned subsidiary, United Solar Ovonic, to weather a perfect storm of dropping solar prices and limited financing opportunities as a result of the recession.