Staples and SunEdison Unveil Maryland's Largest Solar Power Installation

HAGERSTOWN, Md., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS), the world's largest office products company, and SunEdison, a leading worldwide solar energy services provider and subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR), today unveiled a 1.5 megawatt (MW) solar power installation at the Staples distribution center in Hagerstown, Md. Combined with the recent solar installation at the Staples fulfillment center in Hanover, Md., Staples is now hosting more than 2.5MW of solar capacity in the state of Maryland alone.

The 1.5 MW ground installation in Hagerstown consists of more than 11,000 solar panels and will generate an estimated 2 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy annually and more than 37 million kWh for the next 20 years. The environmental attributes associated with the solar power plant will offset more than 74 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) for the next 20 years -- that's equivalent to removing more than 4,200 automobiles driving 12,000 miles per year. Combined, the Staples deployments in Maryland will generate close to 60 million kWh of energy over 20 years -- enough energy to power more than 5,500 average US homes for one year.

"This latest solar power system installment at our Hagerstown fulfillment center demonstrates Staples' ongoing dedication to sustainable business," said Mark Buckley, vice president of environmental affairs for Staples.  "Working with SunEdison for solar power requires no capital investment and no operating or maintenance expense for Staples, provides power at or below the price for grid power, and helps us meet our environmental goals."

The SunEdison/Staples solar program is made possible through power purchase agreements between SunEdison and Staples which require no upfront capital outlays from Staples. SunEdison designs, develops, finances, operates, monitors and maintains the solar installations and Staples buys the energy produced to offset their demand from the grid at long-term predictable energy pricing.

"SunEdison has worked closely with Staples since 2005 and we are very proud of the achievements we continue to reach together," said Jason Stevens, vice president of EPC for SunEdison. "Through our timely build-outs, advanced technologies and our strength in financing, we are able to make solar a reality for commercial clients like Staples worldwide."

The Hagerstown facility also exemplifies Staples' partnership with the EPA ENERGY STAR program. It is the 100th Staples facility to receive the prestigious ENERGY STAR Award for building energy efficiency and was honored today with a plaque to commemorate the achievement.  The company is also participating in the ENERGY STAR Challenge to improve energy efficiency across the company by an additional 10 percent.

For more information on Staples' environmental initiatives, please visit http://www.staples.com/environment.

About Staples

Staples, the world's largest office products company, is committed to making it easy for customers to buy a wide range of office products and services. Our broad selection of office supplies, electronics, technology and office furniture as well as business services, including computer repair and copying and printing, helps our customers run their offices efficiently. With 2009 sales of $24 billion and 91,000 associates worldwide, Staples operates in 26 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia serving businesses of all sizes and consumers. Staples invented the office superstore concept in 1986 and today ranks second worldwide in e-commerce sales. The company is headquartered outside Boston. More information about Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS) is available at www.staples.com/media.

About SunEdison

SunEdison is North America's largest solar energy services provider. The company finances, installs and operates distributed power plants using proven photovoltaic technologies, delivering fully managed, predictably priced solar energy services for its commercial, government and utility customers. In 2008, SunEdison delivered more kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy than any other solar services provider in North America. For more information about SunEdison, please visit www.sunedison.com.

About MEMC

MEMC is a global leader in the manufacture and sale of wafers and related intermediate products to the semiconductor and solar industries. MEMC has been a pioneer in the design and development of wafer technologies over the past 50 years. With R&D and manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia, MEMC enables the next generation of high performance semiconductor devices and solar cells. With the acquisition of SunEdison, MEMC is now a developer of solar power projects and North America's largest solar energy services provider.  

MEMC's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "WFR" and is included in the S&P 500 Index. For more information about MEMC, please visit www.memc.com.

SOURCE SunEdison