NORTH ANDOVER — A local company has a handle on solar energy.
Actually, it's more of a claw.
Panel Claw, a new company based in the East Mill on High Street, with a warehouse at Osgood Landing, yesterday launched its maiden product — the Polar Bear — designed to reduce the time and money it takes to install hundreds of solar panels on the flat rooftops of large commercial and residential buildings.
Company general manager Constantine "Costa" Nicolaou said the company recently reached a long-term contract with one of the largest distributors of alternative energy products in the country.
He expects his company to grow from just one person — him — to three people by next year. More significantly, he expects his manufacturing partner, Olympic Engineering of Haverhill, to grow much more.
Olympic, located in the Ward Hill Industrial Park, now has six employees working on the Polar Bear — forging the aluminum parts to specifications designed by Panel Claw. By next year, Nicolaou said, Olympic should have 20 new jobs and three times that by 2011.
"We're excited to be working with Panel Claw and be part of the renewable energy sector. This is good for the environment and good for us," said Olympic Engineering President Bob Demers.
Environmental companies represent one of the few sectors of the Massachusetts economy that is actually experiencing growth, and state officials are doing everything they can to encourage that.
"We are excited about companies like Panel Claw," said Mark Ferri, director of industry investment and development at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, which invests in renewable energy companies. "They have the potential to help the solar installation market in Massachusetts. They are part of a trend to advance renewable and clean technology in the state. We are excited about the prospects and the company."
Nicolaou said the company is applying for $500,000 in seed money from the state-backed collaborative, which he expects to match with new, private investment.
But he said the exclusive agreement with gro-Solar, an alternative energy products distributor in White River Junction, Vt., is what's really going to fuel the growth of the fledgling company.
"That multi-million-dollar agreement with gro-Solar is a big deal for us and a big deal for Massachusetts," said Nicolaou, who formerly worked in the financial services industry. "We're part of the renewable energy story in Massachusetts."
Panel Claw is one of more than a dozen companies in the Merrimack Valley that make up a cluster of businesses that work in the environmental field. In fact, the company has very close ties to one of those —.Nexamp, located in the same offices in North Andover.
Nicolaou explained that Dan Leary, president of Nexamp, came up with the concept of the Polar Bear mounting system, then spun off the business, calling on Nicolaou to run it.
H.C. Bailly, the CEO of Nexamp as well as Panel Claw, said yesterday that the potential market for solar panel mounting systems is huge.
"We estimate the market in the U.S. at a couple hundred million," he said. "And this is just the start. We are developing other applications."
The Polar Bear is designed specifically for flat roofs typically associated with large commercial or residential buildings. In fact, the system is used on the roof of the East Mill at 21 High St. The installation was part of a pilot project the company installed to bring solar power to the building, which once housed machinery used to make the machines that went into the Lawrence textile mills.
But Bailly said that Panel Claw expects to start churning out new products for sloped roofs, ground-mounted arrays and other uses to take advantage of a hole in the market. He said there are only two or three companies making solar panel mounting systems in the country, and their products are awkward, complicated and costly to install and maintain.
"The most important thing is that it's easier and faster to install and maintain the Panel Claw system," he said. "If you can install it fast, you save money."
During a tour yesterday of the rooftop array, Nicolaou explained how the system works.
He demonstrated that the two sides of a bracket are latched together and placed on the roof, in this case, an uneven, rubber roof. The brackets sit on aluminum skids, which have contact tape on the bottom so that they don't slide around once they're installed.
A solar panel is placed on top of two of the sets of mounting brackets — one at either end — and affixed to the brackets using the claw. It takes only two sizes of screws and an experienced installer about a minute to set up. Ground wires are attached to pre-set screws, also on the mounting bracket. On the back side of the panel are placed deflector shields, which prevent wind from getting under the panels and blowing them off the roof.
The bracket itself is weighed down with solid, pre-cast concrete blocks about the size of cinder blocks. One of the benefits of the system is that it isn't necessary to bolt through the roof to hold the system in place.
In addition to the pilot project on the roof of the East Mill, the system was tested at the Colorado State University wind tunnel, said Bailly. It is rated to withstand winds up to 165 mph, Nicolaou said.
Massachusetts renewable energy cluster
r Solectria Renewables, a Lawrence company, makes devices that convert solar power to usable electricity.
r Nexamp, a North Andover full-service energy company, does everything from solar panel installations to energy audits.
r Powerhouse, a Lawrence company that created Powerpod, a free-standing home that uses solar power and innovative designs to reduce energy use.
r Evergreen Solar, formerly of Marlborough, now at the former Devens Army Base in Ayer, has become one of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the country.
r Environmental Solar Systems, Methuen, makes a variety of solar-powered products for home use.
r Ulvac Technologies, Methuen, the North American headquarters of a Japanese company, involved in industrial applications of solar cell technology.
