The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently awarded San Jose, Calif.-based SunPower Corp., manufacturer of solar cells, solar panels, and solar systems, and its subsidiary, Berkeley, Calif.-based PowerLight Corp., its Solar America Initiative (SAI) award. Pending finalization, the companies may receive up to $10.5 million in funding for 2007.

According to the companies, they will use the funding to implement cost improvements, including innovations in producing ingots, wafers, high-efficiency solar cells and panels, and system design