Novel solar-thermal energy hybrid system earns DOE grant to ramp production in Michigan

Pictured atop this article is PowerPanel Gen20 Integrated System installed on the rooftop of a resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This version of the PowerPanel Gen20 is a hybrid solar/thermal energy system (with optional heat pumps attached). It uses solar energy to provide all the hot water the resort needs while also generating electricity from the same PV panel, both at a fraction of the cost of utility power.
From the Caribbean to the Ukraine, in applications ranging from disaster relief to just “smarter” thermal energy generation, demand is surging for this unique hybrid solar energy generation system, provided by the Michigan-based PowerPanel.
“We presently serve what I call ‘a broad range of niche markets,’” explains PowerPanel CEO Rob Kornaherns. “These include hospitality, medical, educational and ‘any and all’ other facilities that need a lot of clean, hot water for operations, but also are operating in places where a high cost-of-electricity makes hot water extremely expensive. For these types of users, our systems can pay back for themselves in short order.
Now, thanks to a grant worth over $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) along with workforce assistance from Michigan Works!, a state-supported agency, the company will be able to ramp-up system manufacturing capacity.
PowerPanel is repurposing a 50,000+ sq. ft. legacy industrial facility in Michigan into a new advanced technology manufacturing center to assemble PowerPanel’s line of Gen20 hybrid solar/thermal energy systems.
“The DOE’s grant is the catalyst we need to grow our ability to make clean, critical energy available anywhere and everywhere it’s needed and make a positive climate impact globally, all while fostering economic, workforce and community development right here in our own home state ” stated Garth Schultz, president and founder of PowerPanel.
PowerPanel expects the new manufacturing facility to be operational by Q2 2026. Both the PowerPanel system and the DOE grant are novel creations worth a deeper look …
PowerPanel solar/thermal PVT patent
PowerPanel was founded in 2016 by Garth Schultz, a veteran of clean vehicle development on projects involving GM, Chrysler and Ford, as well as clean agriculture initiatives. PowerPanel’s Gen20 systems are based on several patented technological breakthroughs in the field.
The first is a unique hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PVT) panel which effectively combines two energy streams from the sun instead of one — generating both electricity and hot water from a single module. As a result, PowerPanel’s “unitary” approach to solar energy produces four times the energy output of either a solar PV panel or solar thermal collector by itself.
The second is a unique Thermal Tank to store all that increased energy produced by the PVT panels. It’s made entirely of lightweight, engineered thermoplastics with twice the insulation capability as well as superior chemical and corrosion resistance compared to water storage tanks made from commonly used steel.
Currently, the Gen20 system is configured in two ways:
- GEN20 Portable Systems provide clean, hot water along with electricity for essential applications as part of relief efforts ranging from the hurricane-struck Caribbean to the Ukraine.
- Larger GEN20 Integrated Systems are successfully operating at hotels, resorts and other multi-dwelling units, as well as serving health care, food, laundry and other facilities.
PowerPanel also sells heat pumps, which can be integrated into the system
DOE Energy Community Manufacturing grant
Much of the Lansing, Mich., metro area shown above is designated as an affected “Coal Community” by the DOE. The DOE grant [DE-FOA-0003294] awarded to PowerPanel is for Advanced Energy Manufacturing and is geared toward the economic development of a site within a designated “Energy Community” — specifically a location that has or had coal-powered generation or mining activities, or perhaps borders such an area, according to census data.
View all such areas of the country under this designation right here.
“The goal of a new recipient manufacturing plant is to ‘support revitalization in an underserved and economically disadvantaged community,’ in accordance with the DOE’s Justice40 initiative,” Schultz says. “In addition, we will be working with local organizations such as LEAP [Lansing Economic Area Partnership] and MichiganWorks! to create over 150 quality, full-time new jobs – with 40% of those being filled by workers from designated disadvantaged communities.”
PowerPanel will fabricate both the PVT panels and Thermal Tanks on-site. Partners and suppliers for the PowerPanel systems include NREL, 3M and BASF.
PowerPanel expanding into agrivoltaics
With the new facility up-and-running, PowerPanel expects to increase their PVT unit capacity some 25x, to over 120,000 per year. That works out to over 16 MW of electricity produced plus another 65 MW of thermal energy.
It also means an expansion of those aforementioned niche markets, Kornaherns says.
“With this new manufacturing facility, we’re planning on meeting both the increased demand for systems in those existing, more specialized markets plus the rapidly growing ‘smart agriculture’ sector, which represents an added $16 billion market globally and is inclusive of everything from livestock and dairy production to horticulture,” he explains.
PowerPanel is working with Ceres Greenhouse Solutions in Colorado, a manufacturer of commercial and other greenhouses, to address the needs of the agricultural market. By heating or cooling greenhouses 24/7 with stored solar thermal energy, PowerPanel systems can efficiently and cost-effectively support year-round farming in colder latitudes such as Michigan.