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Pvilion and La Plaza Cultural De Armando Perez Community Garden Create Solar Pavilion To Serve Community

August 1, 2023 | Julia Fowler

The solar pavilion will serve visitors of the garden on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

NEW YORK – Aug. 4, 2023 – Daily Tech Geek — Pvilion, a Brooklyn-based solar fabric company, has designed, engineered, fabricated, and installed a custom solar powered fabric pavilion with rainwater harvesting systems in the La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez Community Garden on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The system encompasses energy storage systems, a device charging station, power for lights and equipment for live music events, a graphic educational dashboard display showing performance of the system, and 1500 Watts of solar panels. The structure can produce about 7kWh of solar energy on a typical day.

The solar powered fabric roof connects to a silent, clean battery storage system with 270-amp hours of capacity. It offers enough power to support lighting, tools, electric bicycles, cell phones, fans, and dozens of phones and laptop computers. The system also features a dashboard that educates visitors with a graphic display about the power being generated and consumed in real-time. The rainwater harvesting system features a water diverter that channels rainwater from the roof into three large basins that store the water for future use in the gardens.

“La Plaza is thrilled to have collaborated with Pvilion to bring our solar vision to reality! Pvilion has been a delight to work with throughout the entire process,” said Ross Martin of La Plaza.

With the new addition of solar fabric roofing and power systems, the space now serves as a shelter for gardeners and guests during the day and a social center for events in the evenings. The space will also serve as a resiliency hub for the neighborhood if needed. With the added ability to provide amenities for the guests and users of the garden, it is equipped to better serve the community.

The structure originated as a simple 20′ x 20′ timber frame in the heart of the garden and is made of sustainably grown, horse harvested, and hand-hewn timber. It was erected entirely by hand by mostly volunteers. Ultimately, it will also feature a green roof, permeable paving, and removable sides, making it a truly unique example of green architecture in the city.

Pvilion’s solar powered pavilion is a long-awaited compliment to this beloved community garden in lower Manhattan. The garden plans to host a celebration inaugurating the solar pavilion soon.

About Pvilion

Pvilion is a solar-based fabrics and tent company, who offers products that range from stand-alone solar canopies to solar military tents, grid-tied long span structures, solar powered charging stations, solar powered curtains, building facades, backpacks, and clothing. They are known for integrating solar cells with fabrics and building fabric products that can generate electricity. To learn more visit https://www.pvilion.com/.

About La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez Community Garden

La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez is a community garden and park on 9th Street and Avenue C proudly serving Manhattan’s Lower East Side for nearly a half a century through food production, education, entertainment, and recreation. After decades of reclaiming abandoned lots, restoring damaged landscapes, and fighting development pressure from all levels of government, they are finally stable enough to focus on their dreams of being a much-needed hub and model for sustainable, regenerative, and resilient urban living. Their solar pavilion will enhance and facilitate this end, providing an indoor/outdoor space powered completely off grid, for gathering, workshops, and entertainment. To learn more visit https://laplazacultural.com/.

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Project Spotlight: Texas A&M University Central Texas

July 24, 2023 | Julia Fowler

How Pvilion helped provide students safe outdoor space on campus to recharge between classes.

Texas A&M University Central Texas’s Needed Some Shade

Texas A&M University’s Central Texas campus needed an outdoor space where students could rest in the shade outside, enjoy the charming comfort of campus, hangout with one another, and of course charge their phones and laptops in between classes. The Central Texas location of the Texas A&M University System was founded in 2009 and has a beautifully landscaped campus where students can enjoy their free time while attending one of the largest systems of higher education in the country.

The Challenge

The university faced the challenge of providing shaded space that solved all of these needs, while meeting the campus’s sustainability goals, and without taking away from the attractive layout of the campus’s thoughtfully executed landscape architecture design. They turned to Pvilion to design and provide a fully turn-key solution to address all of these needs.

Our Solution

Pvilion designed, manufactured, and installed a 12-foot by 12-foot solar fabric canopy with adorning tensile fabric shade sails for added shade and attractiveness. The canopy itself is semi-permanent and can be relocated if desired.  The shaded space was completed with hammocks, picnic benches, and of course solar powered battery kits for device charging. Students can now enjoy the charming outdoor views of campus with one another from the comfort of solar-powered shade!

Pvilion’s Quad Pole Solar Sail on Texas A&M University Central Texas campus
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4 Reasons Why Non-Traditional Solar Options Are Changing Outdoor Venues

Pvilion Blog |  May 2023 | Julia Fowler

1. Flexibility is the Future

Non-traditional solar is changing the game for renewable energy in temporary event and hospitality spaces due to the unique flexibility it offers. Solar fabric is:

  • Lightweight. It can be used in most outdoor spaces where heavy, traditional glass solar panels could not be used.
  • Used for permanent or temporary structures. Seasonal spaces and temporary venues can feature sustainable, battery powered shelter anywhere that its needed.
  • Suitable in spaces where traditional solar isn’t. Its lightweight and flexible nature allows it to be positioned and erected uniquely in spaces where clunky, traditional glass panels just don’t fit.
  • Opportunistic – any surface becomes an opportunity for solar. If there is an open space that receives plenty of sunlight, it can generate energy with the simple addition of solar fabric shelter.

2. Harmful Fumes Are Exiting the Building

There’s no question as to whether diesel generators are harmful. California recently passed legislation banning gas-powered generators (AB-1C346), and many other states are likely to follow suit. This is due to the many negative health effects tied to the toxic emissions of most gas-powered generators.

According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease 2019 study, air pollution was the third highest ranking risk factor of diseases that resulted in death globally. Other studies by Energy Report have found that the average diesel generator emits fumes that contain over 40 toxic air pollutants, most of which are carcinogenic. Some of the highest concentrates of pollutants found include PM10, CO, and VOCs.

Air pollutants aren’t only harmful to human health. They also cause long-term damage to the surrounding environment, climate, and ecosystems. Replacing diesel generators with solar powered battery kits offsets 100% of these emissions. It’s that simple.

3. Peace and Quiet

Harmful fumes aside, diesel generators are also linked to hearing loss. Small 50kW generators typically produce about 85 decibels while running. Several hours of exposure to this level of volume can cause hearing loss. Larger generators can lead to even larger problems – A 1500 kW generator typically emits 105 decibels, which can cause hearing loss after just one minute of close exposure, according to a 2018 United State Air Force commentary. Additionally, the CDC also warns against the dangers of hearing damage associated with the use of diesel generators.

Traditional diesel generators are not only loud and generally unpleasant to be around, but they are also linked to permanent hearing loss to those working closely with them. Battery kits powered by solar energy are completely silent. No more noise interrupting events or causing permanent loss of hearing.

4. Tax Credits and Financial Incentives

Pvilion provides turnkey products that are eligible for a 30 percent Solar Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC). That means that the full 30 percent ITC applies to nearly 100 percent of your Pvilion solar product order. This includes the cost of the entire structure and energy storage system, as well as any labor and permitting for installation, all hardware and equipment, and applicable sales tax. This is before factoring in additional state incentives. Thanks to tax incentives like the ones currently in place, the addition of non-traditional solar power to shade systems essentially pays for itself.

Want to learn more about how Pvilion Solar Canopies can transform your outdoor space? Get in touch with our solar fabric experts to learn more and receive a free quote.

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Global Design News

Pvilion has created a solar pavilion that is both a free-standing, modular, self-sufficient way for community gardens to power their activities as well as a protector from rain while harvesting rainwater

Global Design News |  May 22, 2023

In collaboration with Nos Quedamos and its partners, Todd Dalland from Pvilion has designed and will build and install Pvilion’s Community Garden Solar Pavilions for Community for WE STAY/Nos Quedamos, Inc.

The pavilions are highly visible, south facing, free-standing, modular, self-sufficient solar pavilions in low shade areas of local community gardens.

Pvilion’s Community Garden Solar Pavilions for Community has recently been awarded a 2023 Green Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

They include rows of electrical outlets and USB outlets on countertops to charge cell phones, and other low voltage equipment.

The electricity that powers the outlets will be harvested from sunlight by lightweight, flexible solar cells that are integrated into the fabric of the solar pavilions.

Educational solar dashboards will be built into the pavilions to provide information regarding how much power is currently available in the batteries, how much power is currently being generated by the solar panels, and how much power is being drawn by the devices plugged in.

There will also be free, automatic wi-fi access, and routers will be built into the solar pavilions and powered by the solar energy harvested.

Wi-fi access will be available on cell phones automatically with no password required.

The design also includes low-voltage LED lights powered by the solar energy harvested to be built into the solar pavilions, to provide lighting at night.

There will be decorative lighting available to make the fabric roofs glow like urban lanterns at night and change colors for different occasions.

The solar pavilions will also feature sloped and guttered fabric roofs that will harvest rainwater, along with built-in spigots that will allow the water collected to be used for gardening to grow food and water the gardens.

The rainwater will be stored in above grade tanks.

Overall, the solar pavilions will serve as shelter from the sun and rain for meetings, presentations, and performances.

They are designed to be used as are multi-purpose outdoor rooms for community services, gallery shows, concerts, film screenings and other events.

Most importantly, the structures will be used as community resiliency hubs in the case of emergencies such as hurricanes, blackouts, and other disasters.

Fabric walls will be added to provide additional weather protection, which will be anchored to the ground and can be relocated when need be.

Project: Pvilion’s Community Garden Solar Pavilions for Community
Architects: Pvilion
Lead Architect: Todd Dalland
Partners: Nos Quedamos
Client: WE STAY/Nos Quedamos, Inc.
Images courtesy of the architects

To read from the original source, click here.

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INTERVIEW – Pvilion says solar canopy demand is equally split

Renewables Now  |  May 11, 2023  |  By Plamena Tisheva

Will canopies with embedded solar cells become a common sight? A New York-based company active in this niche market tells Renewables Now there is more demand than ever before, especially after the pandemic sparked a greater focus on outdoor spaces.

INTERVIEW - Pvilion says solar canopy demand is equally split between govt and commercial projects

Solar for Hospitality. Image by Pvilion.

Functional and mobile outdoor shelter with its own power is becoming essential in many settings, including disaster response and military conflicts, but also dining and events, Julia Fowler, Pvilion’s marketing lead, explains. The company specialises in integrating solar cells, mostly monocrystalline, into a fabric composite. It then creates various products such as solar military tents, stand-alone solar canopies or grid-tied long span structures.

“We have disaster response canopy projects throughout New York City, a hurricane resiliency hub in Miami, Florida, and Solar Powered Integrated Structures for emergency response utilised by the US Air Force around the globe. They have been used in a variety of disaster relief settings, including a recent application at a Ukrainian refugee camp in Poland this past summer. The tent systems were used as a summer camp classroom for Ukrainian refugee children, providing a safe space for the children to gather, learn, and have fun during their summer camp activities.”

The company draws on the expertise of its three co-founders – Colin Touhey, an electrical engineer, Todd Dalland, a lightweight structures designer, and Robert Lerner, who led programmes to develop lightweight deployable structures for NASA and the US Army.

At present, Pvilion’s projects are evenly divided between the government and commercial segments.

“We expect the demand to remain relatively even between these two markets, as the need for power and shelter remains essential to both sectors. This is why we have a commercial line that specialises in balancing aesthetic designs with functionality and power, and a separate ‘Solar Powered Integrated Structure’ line that prioritises high power output, mobility, and rapid shelter,” says Fowler.

The power capabilities of the products depends on the application. A tool on the company’s website enables clients to customise the power output for their needs. “For some outdoor dining applications, only a small amount of power may be needed to power lighting and phone charging. For military and emergency response applications, our solar kits can fully power aircraft control towers, 5G cell towers, heating and cooling systems, and water filtration systems, with no need for generators.”

The company notes that during a recent week-long trial run by the Air Force, all test cases resulted in zero fuel consumption.

Pvilion has also partnered with US event tent manufacturer Anchor Industries to offer clip-on solar fabric attachments for event tents. These attachments, combined with its clean battery kits, can replace loud and polluting diesel generators for different events.

Demand for the company’s product can receive a boost from the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and in particular the extension of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This credit applies to the entire structure, including installation, so customers can receive a 30% discount on their entire purchase for the next 10 years, the New York firm explains.

One of the projects Pvilion is working on this year is the provision of emergency resiliency canopies for Nos Quedamos, a Community Development Corporation is South Bronx, New York City, whose most recent initiative is to enhance community gardens that were formerly abandoned lots. Pvilion’s solar canopies will be installed in three different locations and will offer back-up power, as well as power for lights, chargers or community events.

To view the original article, click here.

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WINNER |  2023 Green Good Design Awards

Pvilion’s Solar Fabric Kits for Coldplay World Tour

As Awarded by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.

Designers: Todd Dalland, Pvilion, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Client: Coldplay, United Kingdom


This product was designed and provided to Coldplay for their 2022-2023 world tour. The product includes flexible, travel-friendly solar fabric panels and fully functional battery kits to help power key elements of each concert. Pvilion provided the band with 70, 10 ft x 3.5 ft clip-on solar fabric panels. 

These solar fabric products are lightweight, flexible, can be folded up, and are easy to travel with. At each stop that the tour makes, the fabric panels can quickly be set-up and attached to most surfaces that receive sunlight and are fully operational by showtime. 

The goal of the Coldplay: Music of The Spheres Tour is to be as sustainable and low-carbon as possible, and diesel generators are incredibly harmful to the environment and those that work around them at concert venues. 

The addition of these solar fabric kits reduces the harmful fumes that would otherwise be emitted using diesel generators at each concert and is an essential component to the band’s sustainability efforts. 


About the Green Good Design Sustainability Awards:

“For 2023, Green GOOD DESIGN received hundreds of submissions from around the world. Members of The European Center’s International Advisory Committee—worldwide leaders in the design industry—served as the jury and selected over 180 new products, programs, people, environmental planning, and architecture as outstanding examples of Green Design.

The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design have joined forces on two continents to present an innovative and challenging new public program: GREEN GOOD DESIGN SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS.

GOOD DESIGN™ was founded in Chicago in 1950 by Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. to promote and foster a greater public understanding and acceptance for Modern Design.

Now in turn and in 2023, GREEN GOOD DESIGN‘s goal is to bestow international recognition to those outstanding individuals, companies, organizations, governments, and institutions – together with their products, services, programs, ideas, and concepts-that have forwarded exceptional thinking and inspired greater progress toward a more healthier and more sustainable universe.” (This is an excerpt from their website. Click here to read more on the original site.)

To view the award listing, click here.

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WINNER |  2023 Green Good Design Awards

Pvilion’s Community Garden Solar Pavilions for Community Gardens

As Awarded by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.

Location: Bronx, New York, USA
Architects: Pvilion
Lead Architect: Todd Dalland
Client: WE STAY/Nos Quedamos, Inc.
Photographs courtesy of the architects


In collaboration with Nos Quedamos and its partners, Pvilion has designed and will soon build and install highly visible, south facing, free-standing, modular, self-sufficient solar pavilions in low shade areas of local community gardens, with rows of electrical outlets and USB outlets on countertops to charge cell phones, and other low voltage equipment. The electricity that powers the outlets will be harvested from sunlight by lightweight, flexible solar cells that are integrated into the fabric of the solar pavilions.

Educational solar dashboards will be built into the pavilions to provide information regarding how much power is currently available in the batteries, how much power is currently being generated by the solar panels and how much power is being drawn by the devices plugged in.

There will also be free, automatic wi-fi access. Routers will be built into the solar pavilions and powered by the solar energy harvested. Wi-fi access will be available on cell phones automatically with no password required.

The design also includes low-voltage LED lights powered by the solar energy harvested to be built into the solar pavilions, to provide lighting at night. There will also be decorative lighting available to make the fabric roofs glow like urban lanterns at night and change colors for different occasions. The solar pavilions will also feature sloped and guttered fabric roofs that will harvest rainwater, along with built-in spigots that will allow the water collected to be used for gardening to grow food and water the gardens. The rainwater will be stored in above grade tanks.

Overall, the solar pavilions will serve as shelter from the sun and rain for meetings, presentations, and performances. They are designed to be used as are multi-purpose outdoor rooms for community services, gallery shows, concerts, film screenings and other events.

Most importantly, the structures will be used as community resiliency hubs in the case of emergencies such as hurricanes, blackouts, and other disasters. Fabric walls will be added to provide additional weather protection. They will be anchored to the ground and can be relocated when need be.


About the Green Good Design Sustainability Awards:

“For 2023, Green GOOD DESIGN received hundreds of submissions from around the world. Members of The European Center’s International Advisory Committee—worldwide leaders in the design industry—served as the jury and selected over 180 new products, programs, people, environmental planning, and architecture as outstanding examples of Green Design.

The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design have joined forces on two continents to present an innovative and challenging new public program: GREEN GOOD DESIGN SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS.

GOOD DESIGN™ was founded in Chicago in 1950 by Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. to promote and foster a greater public understanding and acceptance for Modern Design.

Now in turn and in 2023, GREEN GOOD DESIGN‘s goal is to bestow international recognition to those outstanding individuals, companies, organizations, governments, and institutions – together with their products, services, programs, ideas, and concepts-that have forwarded exceptional thinking and inspired greater progress toward a more healthier and more sustainable universe.” (This is an excerpt from their website. Click here to read more on the original site.)

To view the award listing, click here.

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WINNER |  2023 Green Good Design Awards

Pvilion Clip-On Solar Powered Fabric

As Awarded by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.

Designers: Todd Dalland, Pvilion, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Manufacturer: Anchor Industries Inc., Evansville, Indiana, USA


This project was designed and created by Pvilion with the intent to integrate solar power to event tents as an alternative to diesel generators. These solar fabric event tent clip-on attachment kits are made with Pvilion’s photovoltaic fabric, and are specifically designed to attach to the top of large event tents to incorporate the use of solar power. 

For those in the event industry that already own large event tents but want to implement solar power, Pvilion has created a clip-on attachment, made with photovoltaic fabric, specifically designed to attach to the top of large event tents. 

The use of these solar fabric attachment kits allows event tent users to have access to power anywhere that they are set up, without needing access to the local power grid. Not only does it allow for this independence, but it also reduces harmful fumes that would otherwise be emitted using diesel generators in these settings. 


About the Green Good Design Sustainability Awards:

“For 2023, Green GOOD DESIGN received hundreds of submissions from around the world. Members of The European Center’s International Advisory Committee—worldwide leaders in the design industry—served as the jury and selected over 180 new products, programs, people, environmental planning, and architecture as outstanding examples of Green Design.

The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design have joined forces on two continents to present an innovative and challenging new public program: GREEN GOOD DESIGN SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS.

GOOD DESIGN™ was founded in Chicago in 1950 by Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. to promote and foster a greater public understanding and acceptance for Modern Design.

Now in turn and in 2023, GREEN GOOD DESIGN‘s goal is to bestow international recognition to those outstanding individuals, companies, organizations, governments, and institutions – together with their products, services, programs, ideas, and concepts-that have forwarded exceptional thinking and inspired greater progress toward a more healthier and more sustainable universe.” (This is an excerpt from their website. Click here to read more on the original site.)

To view the award listing, click here.

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Progress on solar-powered fabrics

ATA’s Specialty Fabric Review Features | April 1, 2023 | By: Michelle Miron

Pvilion’s Heavy Duty Portable Solar Canopy, a 2022 IAA award-winner, is a PVC-coated polyester canopy integrated with solar panels that can effectively power equipment, lighting, cell phones, laptops and other gear. Photo: Pvilion

As a greener, increasingly high-tech world seeks ways to better optimize the power of the sun, textiles manufacturers are competing to be the first to offer solar-generating fabrics that combine efficient power conversion with flexibility, strength, ease of mass production and cost effectiveness.

While many effective solar fabrics are in use today, many scientists report that we’re still waiting for the advent of versions that have all the advantages needed for widespread consumer use. 

Some promising versions feature a self-assembling photovoltaic (PV) crystal known as perovskite that the U.S. Department of Energy reports can perform at up to 25% efficiency. Scientists believe perovskite-based films could be available within the next decade for use on marine, tent and awning canvases as well as conventional buildings. 

In promising news in December 2022, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced the development of ultralight fabric solar cells that are thinner than a human hair yet durable and flexible enough to be glued to fabrics as power sources. At one-hundredth the weight of conventional solar panels, they’re reportedly able to generate 18 times more power per kilogram. And they’re produced with semiconducting inks via printing processes expected to be adaptable to large-scale manufacturing. 

Could the new cells be the answer to developing the powerhouse textiles that could virtually revolutionize the industrial fabric industry? Possibly, says Dr. Jack Martin, a professor in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. He’s cautiously optimistic, but over the past couple decades, he’s seen the emergence of several similar discoveries that eventually fell short in one or more of the key aspects needed for true commercial viability. 

“We have films of PV that can be applied to fabrics, but there are problems with dissimilar materials and adhesives,” Martin says. “What about PV within fabrics? Our preferred state would be a flexible PV—durable, long-lasting with high performance. That’s the golden dream.”

To home in on where the world stands in terms of solar fabric development, here is a progress report and survey of developments from a variety of companies devoted to solar-powered textiles. 

The market is “almost infinite”

German firm Heliatek reports on its product HeliaSol, an organic photovoltaic solar film that can be glued to multiple surfaces and is now marketed primarily for rooftops and facades. Rather than the more conventional silicon, its semiconductors are based on carbon-based molecules. Its website reports that it’s ultralight, ultrathin, flexible, easy to install, temperature independent and “considerably greener than conventional silicon-based solar modules.” It’s manufactured in Dresden and has already been applied to 30-plus installations in that city.  

“These will help unlock solar potential in the urban environment, which cannot be realized today with conventional solar solutions because of weight or surface restrictions,” says head of marketing Stephan Kube. “Our films help transfer building surfaces into active clean energy generators, independent of the shape or surface material.”

Kube calls the potential market “almost infinite.”

“The key question for us is how fast are we able to provide enough solar films for demand? We are working hard to improve the efficiency and cost to make them even more attractive.”

He expects Heliatek films to eventually be optimized for non-building surfaces. 

“Not every fabric of course can generate solar electricity, but we can easily glue our films to existing surfaces and therefore functionalize them,” he adds.  

Award-winning achievements

A forerunner in incorporating photovoltaic fabric technology into canopies, military tents, sails, grid-tied long-span structures, charging stations, curtains, building facades, backpacks and clothing, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Pvilion won two Advanced Textiles Association 2022 International Achievement Awards (IAA) for its development of solar fabric shelters. One recognized Pvilion’s portable, weather-hardy canopy that effectively self-powers equipment, lighting, cell phones, laptops and other gear; the second honored its Hands-Off Expeditionary Tent, which deploys with exceptional speed. Its manufacturing processes call for laminating silicon solar cells onto fabric or integrating them in. 

Pvilion’s 2022 IAA Award-winning Hands-Off Expeditionary Tent offers shelter, power, climate control and flexibility for military and security applications. Its manufacturing processes call for laminating silicon solar cells onto fabric or integrating them in. Photo: Pvilion

Solar-powered tent 

Evansville, Ind.-based Anchor Industries Inc. partnered with Pvilion last year to introduce a solar-powered tent promoted as lightweight, flexible, easy to install, durable and energy efficient.

Buildings get second skins with textiles

ASCA in France and Germany is manufacturing Suntex, a durable, water-resistant photovoltaic film built by putting recycled polymer yarns through a proprietary laser, printing and lamination process. It reportedly can activate any surface to be solar-powered, regardless of shape or base material. Among its advantages: it’s flexible, lightweight, heat and water resistant and reusable; has a service life of up to 20 years; can be colored and/or patterned; and can be powered indoors. Uses include tents, awnings, curtains, pool covers and building facades. 

In 2022, Anchor Industries partnered with Pvilion to release a new solar-powered tent built of fabric it touts as lightweight, flexible, easy to install, durable and energy efficient. “Adding solar capabilities to event tents, thereby removing the need for diesel generators, will change the industry forever,” predicts Pvilion CEO Colin Touhey. Photo: Anchor Industries

Electro-Yarn

New York-based Marubeni America Corp. makes Electro-Yarn, a solar-powered, heat-generating product made of polyester multifilament coated with carbon nanotubes. Solar energy is gathered via woven-in Sphelar® solar cells.  

Thin, lightweight and flexible 

At French startup Solar Cloth, sales representative William Borderie reports on the advent of  CIGS-cell solar panels (built with copper, indium, gallium and selenium) that have a near 18% efficiency—close to that of silicon panels. The thin, ultra-flexible, lightweight panels can be tailor-made to affix (just like fabric) to vehicles, buildings, tunnels, tents, boats and other objects, using glue, sewing, welding or other means. Advertised as unbreakable and resistant to microcracks, shock and shadow, they can be rolled up for transport and generate power for upward of 20 years. Solar Cloth panels can be fixed on fabric or light structures without risks of cracks/microcracks or the need for an air gap to cool down the panels.

The firm just invested close to $1 million in a factory expansion so that it can launch wide-scale production near Cannes this year.  

“We spent many years in R&D to find the right materials and the right way to create such panels,” says Borderie. “The price will remain higher than regular silicon panels, but it’s not a direct competitor; it’s an alternative when regular panels are not a viable option.” 

Solar Cloth’s international client roster already includes the French Army, Renault/Volvo, Huttopia and Richel/Toutabri. Borderie expects more applications this year on storage tunnels, greenhouses and “light” buildings constructed of metal
and textiles. 

“Demand is growing fast, as the price of energy is not stable,” he explains. “And many customers are willing to have a source of energy with low carbon emissions.”

Borderie predicts the start of widespread use of solar-powered
cars by 2030, closely followed by trucks, boats, tents and all buildings—including those that can’t use regular solar panels. 

Other energy-producing fabrics to watch

• Baltimore, Md.-based Materic produces the electrospun nanofiber PiezoYarn™ that behaves like nylon yarn but generates a small, non-storable electric output when stretched or twisted. It can be woven or knitted on standard industrial equipment and can provide health and/or athletic data for wearers. Business manager Colin Harmer says corporate interest may make PiezoYarn commercially viable over the next several years. 

“What hasn’t been explored is that this can be used to detect vibrations, so if there’s a high enough frequency, there could be
an outlook in power generation,” he adds. 

• Pacific Palisades, Calif.-based Hologenix LLC has created CELLIANT®, a blend of natural minerals embedded into recycled polyester, nature-based viscose and other carriers that transforms the wearer’s body heat into immediate full-spectrum infrared energy. Research shows that energy can promote local circulation and cell oxygenation, regulate body temperature and improve recovery from physical activity. 

Target markets, according to CEO Seth Casden, include those seeking better sleep, athletes or anyone with daily physical demands who stands to benefit from improved blood flow and faster recovery. The 20-year-old company has published 10 studies in its quest to validate CELLIANT technology and its benefits. Major brand partnerships include Under Armour, Sunlighten Saunas, Bear Mattress and Medline’s CURAD, with hundreds of different products across dozens of brand partners and different categories.

• Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Nextiles sews flexible circuitry into fabrics that can measure biometric and biomechanics data such as direction, speed, distance, force, bending, stretching, velocity and/or pressure. 

• Pinole, Calif.-based Eeonyx Corp. creates fabrics that generate warmth via “resistive heating” that work surface-wide without wires or circuitry. It’s also working on thin films that create heat after being printed or applied to surfaces. 

• Gastonia, N.C.-based Burlan Manufacturing makes woven fabrics that incorporate electric conductivity into its structures. 

Michelle Miron is a freelance writer based in Hugo, Minn.


SIDEBAR: The race to viability

As a consultant to multiple U.S. organizations striving to produce better solar fabrics, Dr. Jack Martin, a professor in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., says many are competing to be the first to release commercially viable versions. For example, he’s now working with several firms to develop thin solar films that can generate power after being painted onto products. 

Eventually, he says, power-generating cells will be built right into the fibers of clothing and other textiles and will power themselves using both indoor and outdoor light. 

“A tarp type of material to cover structures with a film, or woven fabric of silicon fiber thread, opens countless opportunities for application,” he says, pointing to key products like rainflys, awnings, sails or even wings.

Other promising areas of PV study, he says, include the nano glass fibers now used for communications infrastructure. Because such fibers can be tied into knots without breaking, they could be successfully incorporated into fabric. 

He also believes biotechnology can be used to create solarized surfaces that mimic cells, skin and furs. Someday, he predicts, solar power may be so readily available that students, employees and others will be expected to generate their own portable power to use on location. 

“It’s time to think beyond two dimensions,” Martin says. “The future is fabulous. A new field awaits.”


SIDEBAR: Optimization challenges

Efficiency: This refers to the percent of sunlight energy that can be converted via photovoltaics into electricity. Traditionally, silicon-based solar cells have been the most efficient at up to 31%, but they’re rigid, fragile and are considered expensive. Organic polymer-based cells are more flexible
but thus far less efficient. 

Flexibility: Traditional photovoltaic panels are made of glass or other rigid materials. Scientists seek alternatives that can bend without breaking and compromising their ability to harvest energy. 

Space: The smaller the item, the greater the difficulty in efficiently incorporating the necessary solar components. 

Aesthetics: The batteries used to store solar power can be too cumbersome for smaller-sized products.

Expense: The logistics can be complex and prohibitively pricey. “To transfer an R&D concept into a mass-market product in the high-technology environment is a fundamental challenge, which requires expertise, resources and time,” says Stephan Kube, Heliatek. 

Battery storage: Manufacturers need solar batteries that are flexible, rechargeable, unobtrusive and affordable enough for mass-market use.

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What is the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) And How Does It Work?

Pvilion Blog |  March 24, 2023 | By Julia Fowler

About the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit

The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) originated from the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Although it was originally set to end in 2007, its success in promoting the shift to renewable energy in the United States led to many extensions over the past several years.

Most recently, the Inflation Reduction Act was signed by President Biden in August of 2022, extending the ITC for the next ten years. This means that businesses can continue to benefit from a 30 percent tax credit until 2032. The tax credit will remain available at 26 percent in 2033 and 22 percent in 2034.

According to a statement released by the White House regarding the enactment of The Inflation Reduction Act, it is believed that 950 million solar panels are expected to be in operation in the United States by the year 2030. The effects of this, paired with other clean energy initiatives in the bill, should “reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 gigaton in 2030, or a billion metric tons,” according to the release

How the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit Works

The ITC applies to both commercial and residential solar investments. Users must own the entire solar energy system to be eligible for the tax credit. Although the ITC is not refundable, the remaining credit can be applied the following years for as long as the ITC remains in effect if the tax credit value is greater than the user’s tax liability at the time of purchase.

How Do Tax Credits Work?

Tax credits are tax incentives that allow for reduction in the taxes that companies and individuals owe to the federal government. This means 30 percent of the amount invested in a solar product can be subtracted from owed taxes.

Additional Information

There is an exception for organizations that do not pay federal taxes (i.e. local government, nonprofits, etc.). Certain tax-exempt organizations may be allowed to receive a refund from the IRS for applicable solar projects. Pvilion will help you receive this credit, and can offer leasing and financing options as well.

The solar ITC should be claimed when filing annual federal tax returns. If you or your business have an accountant that files for you, it’s important to inform them about the purchase of any solar products so that they may help you file accordingly.

How Does this Apply to Pvilion Products?

Pvilion provides turnkey solar products that are eligible for a 30 percent Solar Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC). That means that the 30 percent ITC applies to nearly 100 percent of your Pvilion solar product order. This includes the cost of the entire structure and energy storage system, as well as all labor and permitting for installation, all hardware and equipment, and applicable sales tax.

This Entire System + Cost of Installation Qualifies for the ITC

For example, a $25,000 Pvilion Solar Sail installation will get you a $7,500 ITC, which is a one-to-one tax credit. Therefore the installation will only end up costing you $17,500! That’s before any state and local incentives too.

If you don’t have a tax bill (startup company, non-profit, municipality), don’t worry. We offer leasing and financing options for our products that will allow that tax credit to be passed through to you.

Disclaimer: This post was prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to be used as financial or tax advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.

Want to learn more about how Pvilion Solar Canopies can transform your outdoor space? Get in touch with our solar fabric experts to learn more and receive a free quote.