SolarWorld No.1 with Top Ranking in North America Race
Bonn/Hillsboro, Wednesday July 23rd, 2008 - The SolarWorld No.1 racer crossed the finishing line as the third of a total of 24 teams in the North American Solar Challenge, the major event in the solar motor racing calendar in North America, on Tuesday. The solar racing car sponsored by SolarWorld AG and developed by the University of Bochum has thus been able to improve on the excellent result (fourth place) of the last big race in Australia. The solar racing cars covered the roughly 4,000 kilometers across the North American continent from Dallas/Texas to Calgary/Canada in just over eight days. On the way they were exclusively propelled by the power of the sun.
"The great success of solar motor racing shows that solar power technology will also become a genuine alternative in the area of mobility", says Frank H. Asbeck, Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG, on the occasion of the successful race finish of the SolarWorld No.1. "The world demands alternatives – not only in power generation but also in mobility. In view of skyrocketing oil prices we must meet this challenge by launching a solar-driven electrical car suitable for everyday driving."
Photographs of the North American Solar Challenge are available on our Internet page at www.solarworldno1.com
About the SolarWorld group
The SolarWorld group (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a worldwide leader in offering brand-name, high-quality, crystalline solar-power technology. Its strength is its fully integrated solar production. From silicon as the raw material through wafers, cells and modules all the way to turn-key solar systems, including recycling, the group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is selling quality modules into the installation and distribution trades and crystalline wafers to the international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. Production sites are to be found in Germany, the United States and South Korea. The group’s largest production facilities operate in Freiberg, Germany and Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Sustainability is the basis of the group strategy. Under the name Solar2World, the group supports care projects using off-grid solar-power solutions in emerging economies and developing countries, exemplifying sustainable economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs more than 2,700 people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted on the stock exchange since 1999 and today is listed on, among others, the TecDAX, ÖkoDAX, Dow Jones STOXX 600 as well as in the sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.
www.solarworld-usa.com
Media Contact:
Ben Santarris
Public affairs manager
SolarWorld
25300 N.W. Evergreen Road
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Mobile: 503 927 9858
Office: 503 693 5189
ben.santarris(at)solarworld-usa.com