Poughkeepsie-based Atlantis Energy Systems, which manufactures solar electric and solar thermal building-integrated systems, has received a $100,000 grant from Empire State Development Corp. (ESD). The privately held company recently closed its manufacturing facility in Virginia and consolidated its operations in LaGrange. It currently employs about two dozen people and under the terms of the grant plans to hire another 59 within the next three years.
The ESD grant will help fund the relocation, its investment in new equipment and job expansion. Â
Atlantis general manager Tom Thompson said the company, which also has two sales offices in California, was awarded a $1 million “production incentives” grant from the New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) last year.
Founded in 2002, Atlantis manufactures roof shingles and large glass panels laminated with solar cells, which are fabricated into facades or doorway canopies, enabling the building itself to generate electricity. By consolidating at LaGrange, the company will save money by moving to multiple-shift operations. It also plans to begin manufacturing the solar cells it uses in its products, which should lower costs.
The company is a member of The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC), based across the river in Ulster County. It is considering moving its operations to TechCity, the former IBM facility, where TSEC hopes to establish a base. Thompson said the move depends on the company”™s rate of expansion: if it decides to double its operations, it will probably stay put and invest in expanding its existing facility at LaGrange. But if it decides to triple its size, it will have to move to a bigger site.
Thompson said there were no appropriate sites in Dutchess County, whereas at TechCity, “the space is there and not a lot of renovations are required.” At the very least, “we”™ll very likely have a small portion of our activities done with TSEC. Possibly the solar cell manufacturing could be done at TechCity.”
The decision “will be determined by the amount of business that comes in the door,” he said. “We have a couple of significant products that would get us to the tripling. We”™re just seeing how the market is responding. Orders are coming in more quickly than last year at this time. It looks promising.”
Meanwhile, another TSEC member, Prism Solar Technologies Inc., has moved into 2,500 square feet of office space at the Lake Katrine- based Hudson Valley Center for Innovation, a nonprofit business incubation site. Last year the company raised $6.5 million in venture capital financing and signed a contract with NYSERDA to develop a new solar product.
Prism Solar manufactures a photovoltaic module that uses transparent holographic optical elements to increase the efficiency of solar cells, partly by reducing the amount of silicon in the module.   Â
