Soitec Dedicates its San Diego North American Solar Headquarters and Manufacturing Plant With Governor of California

SAN DIEGO, California, December 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• New Local Factory to Supply More than 300 MW in Solar Projects to Provide Electricity to SDG&E
• All PPAs have been Approved by the CPUC

Soitec (Euronext), a world leader in generating and manufacturing revolutionary semiconductor materials for the electronics and energy industries, dedicated its new North American solar headquarters and manufacturing plant in San Diego at a ceremony held on Friday, December 16. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr, provided remarks at the event.  Also participating in the factory dedication were San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, Jessie J. Knight, chairman and CEO of San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) and California Public Utilities Commissioner (CPUC), Timothy Simon. They were joined by governmental officials and over 300 community and business leaders that attended the dedication event.  The factory is located in San Diego to supply more than 300 megawatts (MW) in solar projects to provide electricity to SDG&E. All Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) have been approved by the CPUC.  The new factory will enable a manufacturing capacity of 200 MW of Soitec's fifth generation of Concentrix™ concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules, with the opportunity for future expansion to double the capacity to 400 MW per year.  

Soitec's highly efficient, durable CPV systems have enabled the company to plan for more than 300 MW in utility-scale solar power plant projects throughout the Southwest U.S., including 155 MW in PPAs with San Diego Gas & Electric, approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) last month. Additionally, a power purchase agreement for up to 150 MW for the Imperial Solar Energy Center West project, another project that currently proposes to use Soitec's CPV technology, was approved by the CPUC on December 15.  Tenaska Solar Ventures, LLC, an affiliate of independent energy company Tenaska, is developing that project.  Jerry Crouse, CEO of Tenaska also attended the dedication event on Friday.  

"SDG&E has signed more contracts using CPV technology than any other utility in the world - a distinction we're proud of," said Jessie J. Knight, Jr., chairman and CEO of SDG&E.  "At the time we began our talks with Soitec, we realized we had a unique opportunity to negotiate not only a good contract for solar energy at prices that competed head-to-head with other technologies, but  also to solidify an agreement that would bear fruit for years to come in new local jobs and overall economic benefits. From a reliability and grid stability perspective, this technology is far superior to other typical ground-mounted arrays."

With installations on four continents around the world, Soitec's CPV technology has proven to be the most efficient and most environmentally friendly solar power technology. It demonstrates unique cost competitiveness compared to other solar technologies, largely due to its higher production yields at peak times and lower construction and maintenance costs. In addition, CPV technology's abilities to operate without cooling water, to withstand hot ambient temperatures and to accommodate the dual use of land with minimal environmental impact make it perfectly suited for use throughout the desert southwest.

Soitec employs a distributed manufacturing model which locates CPV module factories close to its customers to provide the most efficient and environmentally beneficial green power.  The distribution model also calls for a large percentage of local content and local job generation.

"Soitec's new facility will create hundreds of well-paying jobs and build on San Diego's growing reputation as one of the world's leading clean-technology clusters," commented San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. "We are so honored and proud to welcome Soitec to the San Diego community, and I know that San Diego's collaborative business community will continue to work with Soitec to ensure the company's success and prosperity."

CPUC Commissioner Timothy Simon also made remarks during Soitec's dedication event. "I encourage Soitec to continue to work with the other utilities in our state and in our nation so we can ensure that this very important technology is doing its best to help us reduce greenhouse emissions," said CPUC Commissioner Simon.  "I look forward to working with President Peevey and my fellow commissioners to ensure that all needed essentials to make this project successful continue to have the support of the CPUC."

Governor Brown noted, "I'm glad to be here for the dedication of Soitec's manufacturing plant.  The expansion of clean energy businesses is a direct result of legislation mandating that one-third of California's electricity come from renewable sources by 2020.  That's a goal and we're going to meet it.  In fact, we are going to do better."

Complete speeches and dedication ceremony photos and film are available on Soitec's event dedicated press room: http://www.soitec.com/events/san-diego/press-room.php

About Soitec

Soitec is an international manufacturing company, a world leader in generating and manufacturing revolutionary semiconductor materials at the frontier of the most exciting energy and electronic challenges. Soitec's products include substrates for microelectronics (most notably SOI: Silicon-on-Insulator) and concentrator photovoltaic systems (CPV). The company's core technologies are Smart Cut™, Smart Stacking™ and Concentrix™, as well as expertise in epitaxy. Applications include consumer and mobile electronics, microelectronics-driven IT, telecommunications, automotive electronics, lighting products and large scale solar power plants. Soitec has manufacturing plants and R&D centers in France, Singapore, Germany, and the United States. For more information, visit: http://www.soitec.com.

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SOURCE Soitec Silicon