SunPower Awarded Approximately 500 Megawatts of Solar in Mexico's First Electricity Auction

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR) announced today that, under Mexico's first electricity power auction, the company has been awarded power purchase agreements with CFE, Mexico's state-owned electric utility, to deliver one terawatt-hour of energy, equivalent to approximately 500 megawatts, over the term of the agreements.  The auction was held as a result of Mexico's sweeping energy sector reform, which opened the market for energy companies to compete as generation providers.

SunPower's awards from the auction include almost 400 megawatts in Yucatan and more than 100 megawatts in Guanajuato, and their associated clean energy certificates. Based on the auction results released by Mexico's National Center for Energy Control, or CENACE, SunPower won approximately 20 percent of the total energy, and 25 percent of the solar energy, awarded from the energy auction. Project development and construction is contingent on factors including contract execution.

"With more than seven gigawatts of solar power systems around the world using our high performance technology, SunPower has the experience and expertise to deliver reliable, cost-competitive solar power to serve Mexico's growing energy demand," said Tom Werner, SunPower President and CEO. "SunPower is proud to have this opportunity to partner with CFE to accelerate Mexico's transition to a robust clean energy economy."

In December, SunPower announced a long term power purchase agreement under which the company would provide 36 megawatts of solar power to Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: ASR; BMV: ASUR) (ASUR), a privatized airport group in Mexico and operator of Cancun Airport and eight other airports in southeast Mexico. SunPower expects to start construction this year and, once the project is operational, the company will provide operations and maintenance services, including monitoring power plant production.

SunPower has operated in Mexico since 2011, and has a manufacturing facility in Mexicali that produces more than one gigawatt of high efficiency SunPower® solar panels annually. SunPower panels manufactured in Mexicali were the first and only solar panels in the world to achieve Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Silver designation for their sustainable manufacturing practices. Ninety-nine percent of the waste generated from SunPower's Mexicali facility is diverted from landfills, making it the first of any industry in Mexico to be third-party verified as landfill-free.  

About SunPower

As one of the world's most innovative and sustainable energy companies, SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR) provides a diverse group of customers with complete solar solutions and services. Residential customers, businesses, governments, schools and utilities around the globe rely on SunPower's more than 30 years of proven experience. From the first flip of the switch, SunPower delivers maximum value and superb performance throughout the long life of every solar system. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, SunPower has dedicated, customer-focused employees in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. For more information about how SunPower is changing the way our world is powered, visit www.sunpower.com.

SunPower Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding expected project development and construction and estimates regarding the future performance and reliability of our products. These forward-looking statements are based on our current assumptions, expectations and beliefs and involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause results, performance or achievement to materially differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) our ability to obtain additional financing for our projects and our customers; (2) regulatory changes and the availability of economic incentives promoting use of solar energy; (3) challenges inherent in constructing and maintaining certain of our large projects; (4) maintaining or increasing our manufacturing capacity, containing associated costs, and manufacturing difficulties that could arise; (5) fluctuations or declines in the performance of our solar panels and other products and solutions; and (6) other risks discussed in filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from time to time, including our most recent report on Form 10-K, particularly under the heading "Risk Factors." Copies of these filings are available online from the SEC or on the SEC Filings section of our Investor Relations website at investors.sunpowercorp.com. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information currently available to us, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.

©2016 SunPower Corporation.  All Rights Reserved.  SUNPOWER and the SUNPOWER logo are registered trademarks of SunPower Corporation in the U.S. and other countries as well. Cradle to Cradle Certified™ is a certification mark licensed by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.  Cradle to Cradle Certified™ is a multi-attribute certification program that assesses products and materials for safety to human and environmental health, design for future use cycles, and sustainable manufacturing.

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SOURCE SunPower Corp.

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