After several meetings and facility tours at BYD’s production facilities in Shenzhen, BYD and Strata Solar have announced an extensive solar partnership for 2014. Chapel Hill-based Strata Solar has inked a deal with BYD to purchase 160 MW’s of their premium solar panels which represents over a third of Strata’s scheduled construction work for 2014. In addition to the panel deal, BYD and Strata will work together to implement BYD’s battery technology into a series of Strata Solar’s utility farm projects in order to maximize production and efficiencies.

BYD offers a wide range of products and services among which their battery technologies has emerged as an industry standard for electric vehicles, handsets and energy producers.

Markus Wilhelm, Strata Solar’s CEO said “We have been very impressed with BYD’s focus on solar and storage technology. BYD’s renewable energy division is highly vertically integrated, which benefits from strong engineering competence, and research and production capabilities in panel manufacturing, racking, inverter technology, and comprehensive storage solutions. During our meetings with Chairman Wang and his staff we had the opportunity to confirm Strata’s alignment with BYD’s global vision and strategy for solar energy. Strata’s unique and rapidly growing utility scale solar business will provide BYD with a large and scalable platform for their current and new technology.”

Strata Solar will complete nearly 200 MW’s of solar across 30 installations in 2013. Strata will add 300 – 400 MW’s in 2014 and has a pipeline of 1.5 gigawatts.