Monday, February 9, 2009

SmartSpark Energy Opens Shop In Austin

Illinois-based power electronics developer SmartSpark Energy Systems is looking to tap into Austin's talent pool, saying Monday morning that it has opened up an office in Austin. The firm, which develops solar energy inverters, said it is looking to tap Austin for its talent pool and base renewable energy companies. SmartSpark Systems said it is planning to hire at the location, along with at its headquarters in Champaign, Illinois, as it nears commercialization of its products. SmartSpark is developing a "microinverter" which the firm says will produce more power than current inverters used for solar power generation. The firm's microinverters are integrated with panels, as opposed to separte components linked by DC power runs in current solar power inverters--used to convert DC to AC power.