Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 2:09:24 PM - by Nate Lew

A solar technology company announced plans to manufacture a racking system that will increase the electrical production of solar panels.

The company, Skyline Solar of Mountain View, California, will partner with Cosma International, a metalwork fabricator, to build the components in Michigan.

Cosma International is the parent company of Magna International, an automotive supplier and the buyer manqué of GM's Opel brand.

Skyline's technology, called High Gain Solar (HGS), is designed to reflect sunlight onto solar panels, boosting their electrical generation potential. HGS uses less silicon than a traditional installation, saving money on materials.

Both Skyline and Cosma were effusive about the prospect of manufacturing the HGS components in Michigan, home to both a high unemployment rate and large amounts of latent manufacturing capacity. The Skyline system can be built at Cosma's existing factories - one of the main reasons the companies are partnering.

Bob McDonald, Skyline CEO, said he was excited to "take advantage of Cosma's manufacturing expertise" and bring solar-panel component production to Michigan.