United Solar Ovonic said today it received a three-year agreement from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund the development of low-cost building-integrated photovoltaic systems.

The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based unit of Energy Conversion Devices said it could get up to $14.7 million in financing from the DOE under plan.

The company expects to receive $4.6 million in federal funding through the completion of its first project budget period, ending June 2008.

United Solar could receive as much as $14.7 million in additional DOE funding through June 2010.

The company said the total potential funding from the agency under the Solar America Initiative is up to $19.3 million.

"Our lightweight, flexible solar panels are ideal for building integration, and we look forward to taking part in the SAI program aimed at reducing the cost of solar electricity to 10-to-15-cents per kilowatt hour by 2010," said Subhendu Guha, president and chief operating officer of United Solar.

The goal of the Solar America Initiative, part of the President's Advanced Energy Initiative, is to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015.

United Solar said its products are flexible, durable, lightweight, and easy to install, unlike traditional crystalline technology, which typically uses heavy glass panels.

The company, which went through a reorganization in April, announced a three-year, $108 million distribution agreement with Advanced Green Technologies last month (see New $108M UNI-SOLAR contract win [1]).