SunPower and SOLON Announce Five-Year $300 Million Supply Contract For Multi-Megawatt Electricity Generation Systems
SunPower and SOLON Announce Five-Year $300 Million Supply Contract For Multi-Megawatt Electricity Generation Systems
April 18, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT
SunPower and SOLON Announce Five-Year $300 Million Supply Contract For Multi-Megawatt Electricity Generation SystemsBERLIN, Germany and SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 18, 2005 - SunPower Corp., a subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp., (NYSE: CY) and SOLON AG (WKN 747119/ISIN DE0007471195, Frankfurt Stock Exchange/Xetra: SOO1), Germany's largest photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer, today announced a five-year supply agreement for approximately $300 million of SunPower's high-efficiency A-300 silicon solar cells.
The A-300 solar cells will be used in SOLON's new "SOLON-Mover," a modular 9- to 10-kilowatt electricity generation system designed for deployment in multi-megawatt (MW) PV power plants. Each SOLON Mover is a self-contained unit that is tested and shipped pre-assembled to the project site, including all power conditioning and control functionality. Movers automatically tilt and rotate the PV array during the day to directly face the sun at all times. This feature increases the solar array's yearly energy generation by as much as 50 percent, depending on location. Information about the SOLON-Mover is available at: www.solonmover.com.
SunPower will add a third 25 MW production line to its manufacturing facility in the Philippines by early 2006 to meet demand. The new line will bring SunPower's total solar cell manufacturing capacity to 75 MW per year .
Alex Voigt, SOLON CEO said, "We are very pleased to have finalized this strategic supply arrangement with SunPower. SunPower's solar cells are the most efficient on the market today and allow us to generate between 30 to 50 percent more power per Mover compared with traditional solar cells. By combining higher efficiency cells with the Mover's ability to maximize daily energy production, each square meter of PV modules can generate nearly double the yearly energy of a conventional fixed PV array. Our goal with the Mover program was to develop a truly industrial PV power system. This long-term agreement provides SOLON with the supply security and visibility necessary for us to address the rapidly growing market for MW-scale PV power plants."
Tom Werner, SunPower CEO, said, "SOLON's Mover is an ideal application for SunPower's high efficiency solar cell technology. As Europe's largest module manufacturer, SOLON is well known and highly respected for its innovative technical solutions and high-quality products. We are pleased to have been chosen as a core supplier to the Mover program ."
About SOLON
SOLON was the first solar stock traded on German Stock Exchanges in the year 1998. It is the largest producer of PV modules in Germany with an annual production capacity of more than 90 MWp and one of country's leading suppliers of high-quality solar solutions. Its products include its new SOLON-Mover double-axial solar tracking system and a variety of PV modules ranging in power from 120- to 850 watts.
About SunPower
SunPower--a majority-owned subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY)--designs and manufactures high-performance silicon solar cells and modules based on an back contact design. S unPower's A-300 solar cell has been independently verified to achieve 21.5 percent efficiency, a global industry best. For more information on SunPower or solar technology, please visit the SunPower website at http://www.sunpowercorp.com.
About Cypress
Cypress solutions are at the heart of any system that is built to perform: consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial, and solar power. Leveraging a strong commitment to customer service and performance-based process and manufacturing expertise, Cypress's product portfolio includes a broad selection of wired and wireless USB devices, CMOS image sensors, timing solutions, network search engines, specialty memories, high-bandwidth synchronous and micropower memory products, optical solutions, and reconfigurable mixed-signal arrays. Cypress stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CY. More information about the company is available online at www.cypress.com.
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Cypress and the Cypress logo are registered trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The A-300 solar cells will be used in SOLON's new "SOLON-Mover," a modular 9- to 10-kilowatt electricity generation system designed for deployment in multi-megawatt (MW) PV power plants. Each SOLON Mover is a self-contained unit that is tested and shipped pre-assembled to the project site, including all power conditioning and control functionality. Movers automatically tilt and rotate the PV array during the day to directly face the sun at all times. This feature increases the solar array's yearly energy generation by as much as 50 percent, depending on location. Information about the SOLON-Mover is available at: www.solonmover.com.
SunPower will add a third 25 MW production line to its manufacturing facility in the Philippines by early 2006 to meet demand. The new line will bring SunPower's total solar cell manufacturing capacity to 75 MW per year .
Alex Voigt, SOLON CEO said, "We are very pleased to have finalized this strategic supply arrangement with SunPower. SunPower's solar cells are the most efficient on the market today and allow us to generate between 30 to 50 percent more power per Mover compared with traditional solar cells. By combining higher efficiency cells with the Mover's ability to maximize daily energy production, each square meter of PV modules can generate nearly double the yearly energy of a conventional fixed PV array. Our goal with the Mover program was to develop a truly industrial PV power system. This long-term agreement provides SOLON with the supply security and visibility necessary for us to address the rapidly growing market for MW-scale PV power plants."
Tom Werner, SunPower CEO, said, "SOLON's Mover is an ideal application for SunPower's high efficiency solar cell technology. As Europe's largest module manufacturer, SOLON is well known and highly respected for its innovative technical solutions and high-quality products. We are pleased to have been chosen as a core supplier to the Mover program ."
About SOLON
SOLON was the first solar stock traded on German Stock Exchanges in the year 1998. It is the largest producer of PV modules in Germany with an annual production capacity of more than 90 MWp and one of country's leading suppliers of high-quality solar solutions. Its products include its new SOLON-Mover double-axial solar tracking system and a variety of PV modules ranging in power from 120- to 850 watts.
About SunPower
SunPower--a majority-owned subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY)--designs and manufactures high-performance silicon solar cells and modules based on an back contact design. S unPower's A-300 solar cell has been independently verified to achieve 21.5 percent efficiency, a global industry best. For more information on SunPower or solar technology, please visit the SunPower website at http://www.sunpowercorp.com.
About Cypress
Cypress solutions are at the heart of any system that is built to perform: consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial, and solar power. Leveraging a strong commitment to customer service and performance-based process and manufacturing expertise, Cypress's product portfolio includes a broad selection of wired and wireless USB devices, CMOS image sensors, timing solutions, network search engines, specialty memories, high-bandwidth synchronous and micropower memory products, optical solutions, and reconfigurable mixed-signal arrays. Cypress stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CY. More information about the company is available online at www.cypress.com.
Cypress and the Cypress logo are registered trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.