Hillsboro, ORE., Oct. 4, 2009 – SolarWorld’s manufacturing operation here will become the first fully integrated monocrystalline photovoltaic plant in the Americas – starting with polysilicon rock and ending with finished Sunmodules – when the plant adds module assembly in mid-2009, the company announced today.

The factory addition to crystal growing, wafer making and cell production already occurring at the Hillsboro site will round out SolarWorld’s commitment to Oregon manufacturing and the U.S. market. A new, 210,000-square-foot building nearing completion next to SolarWorld’s 480,000-square-foot main U.S. factory will house 350 megawatts of annual module-manufacturing capacity. Combined with 150 MW in Camarillo, Calif., the company’s capacity will total 500 MW in the United States and 1.15 gigawatts worldwide by 2011. Module assembly will occupy half of the new building, logistics the other half. Construction of the new building, which employed up to 180 construction workers, has added 44 percent more space to the site just a year after it opened on Oct. 17, 2008. The addition of module assembly is coming sooner and in greater capacity than the company initially planned.

“While we always intended to add moduling in Hillsboro as part of our long-term expansion goal, today marks the launch of actual steps to equip, staff and operate a new building for that purpose,” said Boris Klebensberger, president of SolarWorld Industries America. “These steps reflect our unwavering determination to use Oregon’s skilled, silicon-savvy work force – in concert with our veteran employees in Camarillo – to manufacture the world’s best PV power technology right here on U.S. soil.” SolarWorld, the largest and most experienced U.S. manufacturer of solar power technology, has begun assembling a management team and work force for the new factory, which will not alter company’s previous – commitment to employ 1,000 workers by 2011.

SolarWorld officials announced the milestone in their ongoing U.S. expansion during a first-anniversary celebration inside the new building. The event coincided with a SolarWorld-sponsored bicycle tour to benefit Portland nonprofit Green Empowerment, which undertakes energy and water projects in developing nations.

Also in the event, Solar2World, SolarWorld’s rural-electrification program, launched a project with Green Empowerment to benefit El Corozo, Nicaragua. Solar2World will donate PV modules for a solar water-pumping station that will be implemented by Green Empowerment to supply drinking water to 114 residents.

The SolarWorld group of companies (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a world leader in high-quality solar power technology. The group focuses exclusively on all phases of the photovoltaic energy industry, from silicon raw materials to turn-key power systems. SolarWorld sells its products in all solar growth markets from offices in Germany, Spain, the United States, South Africa and Singapore. Headquartered in Bonn, the company operates its largest manufacturing sites in Freiberg in the German state of Saxony and Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. SolarWorld distributes silicon wafers into the solar cell industry in addition to selling modules and systems for use both on and off electrical grids. Under the name Solar2World, the group champions its commitment to economically, ecologically and socially sustainable growth by donating products primarily for off-grid systems in emerging economies. The group employs more than 2,500 people. Its shares are listed on the indexes TecDAX, ÖkoDAX, Dow Jones STOXX 600, MSCI-Index, DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.

Media Contact:

Ben Santarris
SolarWorld group
Public Relations
25300 N.W. Evergreen Road
Hillsboro, OR 97124

Mobile: +1 503 927 9858
Office: +1 503 693 5189

ben.santarris@solarworld-usa.com