SolarWorld AG / Miscellaneous
18.05.2009
Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Solar Competitiveness Getting Closer
SolarWorld AG will be celebrating the topping-out ceremony of its new
production facility for solar silicon wafers in Freiberg's Industrial
Estate East with the Prime Minister of Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich, and many
guests from the region and from local industry on Monday. At this site a
production facility will be created for photovoltaic wafers according to
the most modern standards with a final capacity of half a Gigawatt per
year. Wafers are extremely thin silicon discs that form the core of solar
power generation. Once processed into solar modules this annual production
volume of wafers would be sufficient to supply half a million people with
solar electricity. With an investment volume of some 350 million EUR this
is one of the largest investment projects of the solar power group. 'Thanks
to our development work and the latest technological processes we will be
able to produce wafers in a particularly resource-friendly and
cost-effective way', says Dipl.-Ing. Frank H. Asbeck, Chairman and CEO of
SolarWorld AG. Thus, the group is consistently following the path of
continuous improvement of efficiency which will also be reflected in
further cost reductions in the course of the year. 'The day when solar
power from the roof will be cheaper for the consumer than electricity from
the wall socket is getting closer'. At the same time the solar technology
provider relies on top quality. 'High quality makes for high yields, also
financially. High quality solar technology turns roofs into solid roof
savings banks.'
Freiberg wafer capacities to rise to 1 Gigawatt in 2010
The poly-crystalline silicon wafers are further processed into solar cells
both by solar cell manufacturers worldwide and in our own solar cell
production. With the new factory the SolarWorld Group will have a wafer
production capacity of one Gigawatt by the end of the year 2010 at the
Freiberg location alone. By today's world market standards one in five
solar cells will then be made using wafers from Freiberg. At the same time
the company will be creating 450 new jobs and in doing so strengthen its
position as the largest industrial employer in the region of Central
Saxony. At the moment the group employs more than 1,500 people in Freiberg.
'This investment is a commitment to the location of Freiberg with its
highly qualified and dedicated employees, the good infrastructure and the
networking in research clusters', says Prof. Dr. Peter Woditsch for
SolarWorld AG.
'The decision by SolarWorld AG to expand its Freiberg site by the addition
of the highly modern production hall is a great day for Saxony, especially
for Freiberg and the employees of the company. Silicon wafers and solar
modules made in Saxony are a quality product and it is especially in the
Freiberg region that the heart beats for this high technology. Innovative
companies, highly qualified skilled workers as well as universities and
research establishments have in the last few years made significant
contributions to the growing sales and employment figures in the
photovoltaic industry in Saxony. I take it for granted that this growth
will continue by a multiple in the medium term', says Stanislaw Tillich,
Prime Minister of the State of Saxony.
Resource-friendly and cost-effective production
An additional example of the resource-friendly and cost-effective mode of
production of the new facility is the complete recovery of the waste heat
from production for the heating of the building. On the roof of the 300
meter long complex a photovoltaic system with an output of one Megawatt is
being installed that can cover the power requirements of 1,000 inhabitants.
About SolarWorld AG: The SolarWorld AG group of companies (ISIN:
DE0005108401) is a world leader in providing high quality solar power
technology. The company which is exclusively dedicated to its core business
of photovoltaic technology is represented at all the stages of the solar
value chain combining industrial activities ranging from the raw material
of silicon to turn-key solar power plants and recycling. SolarWorld AG is
represented in all solar growth markets of the world with production
facilities mainly in Germany and the USA - with the major sites located in
Freiberg/Saxony and in Hillsboro/USA. The company headquarters are located
in Bonn/Germany. Worldwide sales of the solar modules are secured by our
five sales offices in Germany, Spain, USA, South Africa and Singapore. The
central element of the business in addition to the sale of turn-key solar
plants and solar modules to the specialist trade is the distribution of
solar silicon wafers to the international solar cell industry. In addition
to grid-coupled (on-grid) products the SolarWorld Group also distributes
grid-independent (off-grid) solar power solutions. Under the name
Solar2World the group lives up to its ethical commitment to a fair
development also in threshold and developing countries. In this context
mainly off-grid solar power solutions are funded that are perfect examples
for sustainable economic development.
Sustainability is an integral part of the SolarWorld AG corporate strategy.
Corporate management feels committed to sustainable ecologically,
economically and socially acceptable growth. SolarWorld AG employs some
2,500 people worldwide. The company is quoted at the stock market including
listings in the technology index TecDAX, the ÖkoDAX, the Dow Jones STOXX
600, the international MSCI Index as well as the sustainability indices
DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.
SolarWorld AG
Contact Investor Relations: Tel.-No.: 0228/55920-470
Contact Press: Tel.-No. 0228/55920-459
Fax No.: 0228/55920-9470
E-mail: placement@solarworld.de;
Internet: www.solarworld.de
DGAP 18.05.2009
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Language: English
Issuer: SolarWorld AG
Martin-Luther-King-Straße 24
53175 Bonn
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)228 - 559 20 470
Fax: +49 (0)228 - 559 20 99
E-mail: placement@solarworld.de
Internet: www.solarworld.de
ISIN: DE0005108401
WKN: 510840
Indices: TecDAX
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Düsseldorf;
Freiverkehr in Berlin, München, Hamburg, Stuttgart;
Terminbörse EUREX
End of News DGAP News-Service
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DGAP-News: SolarWorld Celebrates Topping-Out for New Solar Wafer Factory
| Source: EQS Group AG