Evergreen Solar Ships 50,000th String Ribbon Solar Panel
Shipment Marks Another Milestone in Evergreen Growth
Marlboro, Massachusetts, January 15, 2004 - Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR), a developer, marketer, and manufacturer of photovoltaic (solar electric) products for the worldwide market, today announced the Company has manufactured and shipped its 50,000th solar panel incorporating its proprietary String Ribbon' technology.
Richard M. Feldt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Evergreen Solar, said, "This shipment marks another milestone in Evergreen Solar's continued growth and innovation. From its beginnings, the Company has been notable for its ability to deliver using a new, efficient manufacturing process. Our current expansion plans will enable Evergreen to quadruple manufacturing capacity over the next 12 to 18 months."
Last month, Mr. Feldt was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer by Evergreen Solar's Board of Directors. He noted that he joined the Company, in part, because of its proven ability to scale up technical innovations from the laboratory to the factory floor.
The market for Evergreen Solar's products is growing rapidly. "The solar industry has seen an annual growth rate of 30 percent over the last 5 years, and experts have projected continued strong growth," commented Mark Farber, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development. "The public's increased interest in renewable energy, especially after events such as last summer's blackout and questions about the reliability of our aging power grid, makes solar electricity an attractive alternative: it's here, now, and uses a clean, readily available source of power. We believe that solar electricity will be in more widespread use in the coming years."
Evergreen's proprietary and patented String Ribbon technique produces a flat crystalline silicon substrate directly from molten silicon and avoids the waste and cost of slicing solid blocks of silicon. The process is continuous and requires fewer and simpler steps than conventional bulk silicon methods. String Ribbon is one of the most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly crystalline silicon processes in the industry. The Cedar Line' of solar panels is certified to the UL, IEEE, IEC, CE, and TUV international quality and safety standards.
About Evergreen Solar, Inc.
Evergreen Solar, Inc. (www.evergreensolar.com) develops, manufactures, and markets solar power products utilizing the Company's patented solar power technologies. The products provide reliable and environmentally clean electric power in global markets. Solar power applications include wireless power for remote homes, water pumping, lighting, and rural electrification, as well as complete power systems for electric utility customers choosing to generate their own environmentally benign power. The Company's factory and headquarters are in Marlboro, MA.
Evergreen Solar® is a registered trademark and Cedar Line' and String Ribbon' are trademarks of Evergreen Solar, Inc.
This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company cautions you that any statements contained in this press release, which are not strictly historical statements, constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements reflecting management's expectations regarding the timing, cost, and success of the Company's current and future manufacturing scale-up and production; future financial performance; the Company's technology and product development, cost, and performance; the Company's current and future strategic relationships and future market opportunities; and the Company's other business and technology strategies and objectives. These statements may be identified with such words as "we expect", "we believe", "we anticipate", or similar indications of future expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the following factors: the Company's business and results of operations could be materially impaired as a result of poor manufacturing or product performance or higher costs attributable to the expansion or operation of manufacturing facilities; the market for solar power products is emerging and rapidly developing, and market demand for solar power products such as the Company's products is uncertain; the Company has limited experience manufacturing large volumes of solar power products on a commercial basis at acceptable costs, which it will need to do in order to be successful; the Company faces intense competition from other companies producing solar power and other distributed energy generation products; the Company sells via a small number of reseller partners, and the Company's relationships with current or prospective marketing or strategic partners may be affected by adverse developments in the Company's business, the partner's business, competitive factors, solar power market conditions, or financial market conditions; and the market for products such as the Company's solar power products is heavily influenced by federal, state, local, and foreign government regulations and policies, as well as the availability and size of government subsidies and economic incentives, over which the Company has little control. In addition to the foregoing factors, the other economic, competitive, governmental, technological, and other risk factors identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission - including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, filed on March 27, 2003, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2003, filed on November 12, 2003 (a copy of which may be obtained at the SEC's web site at: http://www.sec.gov) - could impact the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in Company expectations, or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
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