SolarWorld AG Opens Module Factory in South Korea

10-12-08v3

SolarWorld AG located in Bonn, Germany, has commissioned its first manufacturing facility for solar power modules in Asia together with its Korean joint venture partner SolarPark Engineering Co. Ltd. The module factory in the South Korean city of Jeonju has a capacity of 150 Megawatt and can be expanded to 1 Gigawatt at its present location. With the new manufacturing facility the SolarWorld Group is taking account of the vigorous market growth for solar power technology in Asia. Frank H. Asbeck, Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG: 'In Korea and Japan alone we are expecting an increase in the market volume of at least 800 Megawatt each by the year 2012. These markets will be supplied with the usual SolarWorld quality products from our new manufacturing facility'. The factory was completed exactly on schedule after only six months. The investment volume amounts to 30 million EUR and is split 50:50 between the two joint venture partners. Group to continue integration strategy with plant construction SolarWorld AG and SolarPark Engineering Co. Ltd. will continue to cooperate in the future in the construction of turn-key plants for the manufacture of solar power modules worldwide, also for third parties. To this end an agreement was signed today on the occasion of the opening of the module factory for the creation of the joint venture SolarPark Manufacturing Equipment Ltd. In this way SolarWorld AG is adding the construction of production plants to its solar value chain. 'We are the only company in the solar industry to integrate everything from the production line to the complete solar power station under one roof', says the Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG, Frank H. Asbeck. About SolarWorld AG The SolarWorld AG group of companies (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a world leader in high quality solar power technology. The company is involved at all levels of the solar value chain and combines all activities of the solar industry from silicon as the raw material to turn-key solar power systems. SolarWorld AG is represented in all the world’s solar growth markets. The group is exclusively dedicated to its core business of photovoltaic power generation operating production facilities in Germany and the USA. They in turn supply the SolarWorld AG sales offices in Germany, Spain, USA, South Africa and Singapore. In South Korea SolarWorld AG is currently building up a solar module production facility in order to be able to serve the growing demand in Asia on the spot in the future. The central element of the business in addition to the sale of turn-key solar systems and solar modules to the trade is the distribution of solar silicon wafers to the international solar cell industry. Apart from grid-coupled (on-grid) products the SolarWorld Group also sells off-grid solar power solutions that make an important contribution to the sustainable economic development of threshold and developing countries. Under the name Solar2World the group has pooled its ethical commitment to solar power especially in developing countries. SolarWorld AG employs 2,254 people worldwide. At the stock market the company is listed among others in the technology index TecDAX, in the ÖkoDAX, in the Dow Jones STOXX 600, in the international MSCI index as well as in the sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI. SolarWorld Press contact SolarWorld AG Martin-Luther-King-Straße 24 53175 Bonn Germany Contact Investor Relations: Tel.-Nr.: 0228/55920-470 Contact Press: Tel.-Nr.: 0228/55920-459 Fax-Nr.: 0228/55920-9470 E-Mail: placement(at)solarworld.de Internet: www.solarworld.de