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Evergreen Solar Announces $88 Million Contract With Global Resource Options

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 February 2006, 09:01 CST

Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR), a manufacturer of solar power products with its proprietary, low-cost String Ribbon(TM) wafer technology, today announced that it has entered into a multi-year supply contract with Global Resource Options, Inc. (GRO), a Vermont-based solar power distributor and system integrator. The agreement calls for Evergreen Solar to ship approximately $88 million of photovoltaic modules to GRO over the next four years.

"GRO is a great addition to Evergreen Solar's growing list of high-volume distributor and system integrator customers," said Richard M. Feldt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Evergreen Solar. "GRO has firmly established its presence in the Northeast region and is expanding into adjacent markets. We see them as a key partner in our effort to grow and maximize our penetration of the U.S. market."

Jeff Wolfe, Chief Executive Officer of GRO, said the contract would assist the company in executing its business strategy of maintaining consistent and reliable supplies of solar products to residential and small commercial customers throughout the region.

"We are thrilled to partner with Evergreen Solar, with its proprietary String Ribbon technology and rapidly expanding manufacturing capability," Wolfe said. "Our relationship with Evergreen ensures that as the market for solar continues to expand, GRO will continue to grow with it. GRO customers can be confident that they will have ready access to solar installations, at a steady price, for years to come."

Following on the heels of its sales agreements with PowerLight Corporation and S.A.G. Solarstrom AG, this is the third major contract that Evergreen Solar has announced in recent months. The value of the three contracts totals nearly $260 million over the next four years. These products will be manufactured at Evergreen Solar's plant in Massachusetts and at EverQ's new 30-megawatt facility in Thalheim, Germany. EverQ is a strategic partnership between Evergreen Solar, Q-Cells AG of Germany and Renewable Energy Corporation ASA (REC) of Norway.

About Global Resource Options, Inc.

Global Resource Options, Inc., premier provider of residential solar energy systems in the Eastern U.S., helps homeowners reduce their energy bills and turn their values into action. GRO makes solar simple, providing distribution services of complete solar energy systems, while also serving customers directly with consultation, installation, and as-needed maintenance. GRO is the 2005 winner of Vermont's highest award for a socially responsible business, the Terry Ehrich Small Company Award for Excellence, selected by Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.

About Evergreen Solar, Inc.

Evergreen Solar, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets solar power products using proprietary, low-cost manufacturing technologies. The Company's patented crystalline silicon technology, known as String Ribbon, uses significantly less silicon than conventional approaches. Evergreen's products provide reliable and environmentally clean electric power for residential and commercial applications globally. For more information about the Company, please visit www.evergreensolar.com.

Evergreen Solar(R) is a registered trademark and String Ribbon(TM) is a trademark of Evergreen Solar, Inc.

A Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. The Company cautions you that any statements contained in this press release which are not strictly historical statements constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those related to Company's expectations regarding the anticipated benefits of the GRO relationship; the amount of shipments to GRO; the anticipated benefits of the Company's String Ribbon technology; the Company's plans for the EverQ facility; the Company's plans regarding the U.S. solar power market; the Company's distribution capabilities; the Company's position in the solar power market; and the Company's future revenue growth. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the following factors: the conditions to which any German government grant is subject, which includes, but is not limited to, receipt of European Union approval; the risk that any German government grant that has or may be approved is subject to forfeiture or repayment in whole or in part if EverQ fails to continue to meet the conditions for such grants or if such grants for any reason become unavailable from German or European Union sources; the success of EverQ is subject to numerous risks associated with the development of manufacturing facilities in international markets and depends on many factors that are outside of the Company's control, including the availability of government grants and contributions by Q-Cells and REC; the Company's business and results of operations could be materially impaired as a result of poor manufacturing or product performance or higher costs attributable to the expansion or operation of manufacturing facilities; the market for solar power products is emerging and rapidly developing, and market demand for solar power products such as the Company's products is uncertain; the Company has limited experience manufacturing large volumes of solar power products on a commercial basis at acceptable costs, which it will need to do in order to be successful; the Company faces intense competition from other companies producing solar power and other distributed energy generation products; the risk that the Company may fail to bring to market new products under development or that any such products may not achieve commercial acceptance; the risk that technological changes in the solar industry could render its solar products uncompetitive or obsolete; the Company sells via a small number of reseller partners, and the Company's relationships with current or prospective marketing or strategic partners may be affected by adverse developments in the Company's business, the partner's business, competitive factors, solar power market conditions, or financial market conditions; the market for products such as the Company's solar power products is heavily influenced by federal, state, local and foreign government regulations and policies, as well as the availability and size of government subsidies and economic incentives, over which the Company has little control; and the Company is susceptible to shortages of specialized silicon that the Company uses in the manufacture of its products. In addition to the foregoing factors, the risk factors identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission - including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 10, 2005, amended April 29, 2005, and the Company's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 10, 2005 (copies of which may be obtained at the SEC's website at: http://www.sec.gov ) - could impact the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in Company expectations, or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Source: Business Wire

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