Siemens Solar Wins $10-Million U.S. Contract

Siemens Solar Industries in Camarillo said it won a $10-million, three-year contract from the Department of Energy to develop solar cells for the government's Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology Initiative.

The initiative is intended to improve U.S. manufacturing and technology of photovoltaic cells, which are made of single crystal silicon and convert sunlight into electricity.

Siemens, which makes about 20% of the photovoltaic modules produced worldwide, employs about 500 people in Camarillo and at its new facility in Vancouver, Wash. Siemens Solar Industries is a unit of Siemens AG, a German multinational corporation with annual sales of about $45 billion.