Issue of April 4, 2006
EPV launches Joint venture
Energy Photovoltaics Inc., New Jersey’s only solar energy manufacturer, has joined in the creation of a new joint venture company, Solar Plus, S.A. of Lisbon, Portugal.
The joint venture, which has a value in excess of $20 million, has executed a contract with EPV that starts the first phase of development the construction of a 5.5-megawatt-per-year thin-film photovoltaic module manufacturing facility near Aveiro in the central coast of Portugal. This will more than triple current photovoltaic production capacity in Portugal with operations starting in early 2007.
Demand for photovoltaic modules, which has been growing worldwide at more than 30 percent per year for the past decade, has dramatically increased in Portugal and in the European Union in response to global-warming concerns and aggressive government incentives to stimulate solar energy usage. Portugal has one of the highest average levels of solar radiation (solar resource) in Europe, and is an ideal location for a photovoltaic business.
Energy Photovoltaics Inc., a solar energy technology developer and manufacturer of photovoltaic modules, will supply its Integrated Manufacturing System, which incorporates specially designed production machinery with the company’s commercially proven proprietary manufacturing technology, for the production of high-quality, low-cost amorphous silicon photovoltaic modules. The manufacturing plant will be located in Portugal.
James F. Groelinger, chief executive officer of Energy Photovoltaics Inc., was present for the signing of the joint venture agreement in Lisbon.
"Portugal has the potential to be the next significant solar market in Europe," he said. "The business that Solar Plus is commencing is aimed at helping Portugal achieve its renewable energy goals in an environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner."
PGF designated Microsoft associate
Microsoft Corp. has announced PGF Associates LLC has become the first Small Business Specialist in the South Brunswick area.
This new designation distinguishes PGF Associates as an expert in small-business solutions and services, awarding them a rich set of benefits from Microsoft, including access to training specifically designed for the small-business industry, small-business marketing materials for reuse, special partner offers and the ability to use the Small Business Specialist logo in marketing materials, which can help give the company a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
The Small Business Specialist, a competency-like designation as part of the Microsoft Partner Program, was developed in response to input from customers and partners that expressed a need to build easier connections that enable small-business customers to quickly and easily identify technology partners best suited to support them.
As one of the requirements for attaining Small Business Specialist status, PGF Associates had to pass Microsoft’s small business sales and marketing skills assessment, designed to test the company’s knowledge of the dynamics and dependencies of the small-business market, as well as the value to small business of several software solutions, including Windows XP Professional and Windows Small Business Server 2003.
PGF Associates located in Dayton, provides innovative practical solutions to small and mid-size companies. Visit PGFllc.com.
Morris Museum is Hillier project
West Windsor-based Hillier Architecture teamed up with New York exhibition design firm Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership to design a nearly 8,000-square-foot expansion of the Morris Museum in Morristown.
Groundbreaking for the $8 million project was held March 20 and it is scheduled for completion in July 2007.
About half the new building will house the Murtogh D. Guinness collection of historic, mechanical musical instruments and automata dating from the late 16th to the early 20th centuries, which was given to the museum in 2003.

