Opel International, a Shelton, CT based CleanTech company, has recently announced that it has created a wholl-owned subsidiary headquartered in Belgium to serve, according to OPEL, ”as the hub of all OPEL solar projects, parnterships, and joint ventures on the European continent”.
OPEL develops solar-energy technology for commercial applications, including solar farms for large scale utilities to rooftop systems for commercial buildings. The new subsidiary, OPL Solar, will be a financial holding company that will serve as a vehicle for subsidiary companies “to form limited joint ventures and partnerships with solar developers so that utility grade solar farms can be financed and installed featuring OPEL technology”.
As for Connecticut, this is a good news/bad news item. It’s good news because a Connecticut-based company, in the potentially high-growth industry of CleanTech (See, Engine of Growth: clean-tech jobs, Christian Science Monitor), is expanding its operations and capabilities. It’s bad news because, according this article, 70% of OPEL’s business is in Europe, which, according to Frank Middleton, VP of Marketing for OPEL, is because “[t]he European countries have been more progressive than the U.S. in terms of putting incentives in place”.
The recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and its commitment to the CleanTech industry (See The Stimulus Bill and Funding Opportunities for Cleantech Startups, xconomy.com), may help expand the opportunities for companies such as OPEL.
- Gregg J. Lallier
