SolarWorld AG: Laying of Foundation Stone for Third Module Production in Freiberg

SolarWorld AG / Miscellaneous

13.07.2010 12:00

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With two expansion projects, SolarWorld AG is reconfirming its commitment
to Germany as a production location. Today, the solar power manufacturer
celebrates the laying of the foundation stone at its third module
production facility in Freiberg in Saxony, SolarWorld AG's largest site
worldwide. By the beginning of 2011, the group will have established a
modern, fully automated production facility for crystalline photovoltaic
modules on a 26,000 square meter plot of land in the Saxonia Industrial
Park. This will more than triple the annual production capacities at the
Freiberg location to 450 megawatts. Freiberg production lines will be
turning out more than five modules per minute. Experience from other
SolarWorld AG module production facilities worldwide will be injected into
this new high-tech production location. According to current planning, some
200 new employees will be added to the headcount by this project.

Logistics center expanded
In the Saxonia Industrial Park in Freiberg, SolarWorld AG has been
expanding its logistics center SolarLog. Within five months, an extension
was built that expanded the SolarLog by 2,500 to a total of 13,000 square
meters of ground surface. In the shipping hall, solar kits consisting of
modules and the supplementary accessories are prepared for dispatch. This
may be a solar kit with a battery system, for example. With the storage
system SunPac by SolarWorld solar power producers are able to increase
their self-consumption, thus becoming more independent from the power price
increases of their energy utility. 'SolarWorld is preparing with this
expansion for the challenges of a dynamic market and the simultaneously
growing Freiberg production. We will noticeably accelerate shipments and
improve our service to customers,' said Frank Asbeck, chairman and CEO of
SolarWorld AG. After completion of expansion of the logistics center, ten
trucks can be loaded simultaneously at ten loading ramps. Starting in 2011,
two million SolarWorld modules per annum will be shipped from Freiberg.

Honorary doctorate for Frank Asbeck 
Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG, Frank Asbeck, today will receive an
honorary doctorate from the Technical University and Mining Academy of
Freiberg for his commitment to photovoltaic research as well as for his
contribution to the cultural life of the City of Freiberg. 'Especially the
decision to locate the Research and Development activities of SolarWorld in
Freiberg is of great structural policy importance both for the location and
for the university,' said the Senate in its laudation. Having established
the research company SolarWorld Innovations GmbH, which currently employs
92 people, Frank Asbeck underlined the importance of a modern industrial
company's own innovation work. Long years of cooperation between SolarWorld
and the Technical University of Freiberg have covered many different areas
- from joint research projects via the SolarWorld Foundation Fund to the
'Photovoltaic' graduate school - and will be continuously expanded in the
future.


About SolarWorld AG: The SolarWorld AG Group (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a
world leader in supplying branded, high quality crystalline solar power
technology. Its strength is the full integration of its solar production.
From the raw material of silicon via wafers, cells and modules all the way
to turn-key solar power plants including recycling the group combines all
the stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is the
sales of quality modules to the specialist trade and of crystalline wafers
to the international solar cell industry. Corporate headquarters are in
Bonn. Production locations are in Germany, the USA and South Korea. The
largest production facilities are operated by the group in Freiberg/Germany
and Hillsboro/USA. Sustainability is the very basis of our corporate
strategy. Under the name Solar2World the group funds aid projects in
threshold and developing countries with off-grid solar power solutions that
are examples for sustainable and economic development. Worldwide SolarWorld
has more than 2,700 people on its payroll. SolarWorld AG has been quoted at
the stock exchange since 1999 and is today listed among others in the
technology indices TecDAX, ÖkoDAX, Dow Jones STOXX 600 as well as the
sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI. 

Contact SolarWorld AG
Press: Tel.-No.: 0228/55920-400, E-Mail: press@solarworld.de 
Investor Relations: Tel.-No.: 0228/55920-470; Fax-No.: 0228/55920-9470, 
E-Mail: placement@solarworld.de 

Internet: www.solarworld.de




13.07.2010 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Press Release
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Language:     English
Company:      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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