Applied Solar Inc. is a company developing solar energy products and energy management applications—especially with photovoltaics

Photovoltaics

Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material...

 for buildings. The company is located in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

History

In 2005, Barnabus Energy Inc., which was founded in 2002, acquired 20% of Solar Roofing Systems (SRS). After that, the company changed from developing oil and natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 projects in Western Canada to the new technology of renewable energy

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...

 under the name Open Energy Corp.. Senior Scientific Advisor was Dr. Melvin L. Prueitt who was theoretical physicist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...

 for more than 30 years. In 2004 the share price was listed with more than 25 US$ in the NASDAQ

NASDAQ

The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...

, but declined in the following years. As the solar energy is still the main target, the company decided to change its name to Applied Solar in 2009.

The largest investor is The Quercus Trust with about 10 percent.

Suntech, the world's largest manufacturer of photovoltaic, announced that it will undertake the worldwide manufacture, distribution, sales, and marketing of the solar membrane product.

Since the Fukushima I nuclear accidents the shares

Share (finance)

A joint stock company divides its capital into units of equal denomination. Each unit is called a share. These units are offered for sale to raise capital. This is termed as issuing shares. A person who buys share/shares of the company is called a shareholder, and by acquiring share or shares in...

of Applied Solar became more interesting, like other companies in the fields of renewable energy.