Town of Newmarket and SunEdison Announce Solar Panel Sustainability Program

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NEWMARKET, ON, July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Today, the Town of Newmarket and SunEdison, a leading worldwide solar energy services provider and subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE: WFR), announced an agreement to deployfour municipal rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. Four municipal facility rooftops will be leased to SunEdison to install solar panels that will produce clean, renewable energy.

Once completed, the systems are expected to generate more than 23 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy over 20 years. This is enough to power 2,199 average Canadian homes for one year, and has the potential to offset an estimated 4.8 million kilograms of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which equates to removing 1,036 cars from the road for one year.

"This is a significant step forward for our sustainable story in the Town of Newmarket," said Mayor Tony Van Bynen. "By partnering with SunEdison, we have achieved another major sustainability goal with a 'triple bottom line' impact. Through this program, we are generating green jobs, delivering on clean green energy, and contributing to the financial sustainability of the community. It is truly a triple-win project."

The project will be financed, deployed, monitored and maintained by SunEdison and is expected to total 1.17 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity. Once installed, the Town of Newmarket will earn revenue from the leased rooftops, and the energy produced by the rooftop panels will be purchased by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) under the terms of Ontario's Feed-in Tariff Program (FIT).

"Not only are we helping to providea cleaner environment for our families by reducing Ontario's reliance on traditional energy sources," said Jason Gray, Vice President and Country Manager for SunEdison Canada. "We are also helping to create jobs here in Newmarket through the local manufacturing of solar modules, and the deployment of these solar power plants. SunEdison commends the efforts of Newmarket's leadership, and looks forward to serving their renewable energy needs."

SunEdison's affiliate MEMC Singapore partnered with Flextronics, a multi-billion dollar electronic manufacturing services provider to manufacture solar photovoltaic panels to meet domestic content requirements. Through this partnership, the solar PV panels used for the Newmarket project along with other SunEdison deployments in Ontario are expected to generate approximately 400 green jobs for the community.

About The Town of Newmarket
The Town of Newmarket is one of Canada's most dynamic, diverse and prosperous communities and is home to over 84,000 residents. Recently named one of the Best Places to Live in Canada by MoneySense Magazine, Newmarket is the best place to live in York Region based on climate, prosperity, access to healthcare, home affordability, low crime rates and lifestyle. An eco-conscious community, Newmarket is known as an innovative and progressive community.

About SunEdison
SunEdison is a global provider of solarenergy services. The company develops, 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 2010 SunEdison deployed more than 160 megawatts of solar energy throughout the world. For more information about SunEdison, please visit www.sunedison.ca.

About MEMC
MEMC is a global leader in semiconductor and solar technology. MEMC has been a pioneer in the design and development of silicon wafer technologies for over 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. Through its SunEdison subsidiary, MEMC is also a developer of solar power projects and a worldwide leader in solar energy services. 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.

*About the Feed-in Tariff Program (FIT)
Ontario's Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program for renewable energy generation is a cornerstone of the province's Green Energy Act. Under the program, participants are paid a fixed-price for the electricity they generate over a 20 year contract period. For more information, visit http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca.

/NOTE TO EDITORS: Media Assets accompanying this story are available as follows:

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JesZqfXruRE

SOURCE Town of Newmarket