ESLR 4.05 last trade - taking off on news
Has to be the longest disclaimer ever recorded
Evergreen Solar Unveils Major Thin Wafer Breakthrough for Its String Ribbon Technology
Tuesday December 7, 7:34 am ET
Thin Ribbon Technology Will Cut Silicon Requirements to 33% of Industry Norm; Competitive Advantages are Increased by Tightening Supply of Solar-Grade Silicon
MARLBORO, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 2004-- Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR - News), a manufacturer of solar power products with proprietary, low-cost manufacturing technology, today announced a major advance in the development of its String Ribbon(TM) manufacturing process that has the potential to produce silicon wafers thinner than 150 microns. The Company has filed a patent application for its thin wafer technology.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Evergreen Solar's mission since its inception has been to produce high-quality solar products at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods," said Richard M. Feldt, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Today we are announcing an important step in realizing that goal. With the latest enhancement to our Gemini II double ribbon growth process, Evergreen Solar has demonstrated in its pilot operations that it can manufacture wafers using one third of the silicon required by conventional methods - significantly reducing the overall cost of producing solar panels. The ability to produce the thinnest wafers in the solar industry affords our Company with a decided competitive advantage that no other company has demonstrated. This breakthrough demonstrates the robustness of our String Ribbon manufacturing process."
"By changing the growing conditions in our Gemini II furnaces, we can produce wafers that are half the thickness of our current standard," said Dr. Brown F. Williams, Vice President, Research and Development. "This achievement directly cuts the use of silicon in half for us and by a factor of three when compared to conventional methods."
"Our competitors produce wafers by sawing slices of silicon off of large ingots. The silicon lost in the width of the saw cut means that other wafer manufacturers are effectively throwing away half of their silicon starting material. Our standard String Ribbon process already avoids that shrinkage. Moreover, because current cutting techniques have difficulty producing wafers as thin as 150 microns, we truly have a unique, defensible competitive advantage," Williams added.
Feldt said, "There is some concern that the tightening silicon supplies may limit the growth of the photovoltaic industry for the next year or two. Our technology's potential to further reduce silicon requirements is really quite dramatic and holds great promise for our industry. We expect that production of our thin wafers will entail other savings in material costs and the thin wafers will perform at a higher level of efficiency."
"The yield from the pilot quantities of our thin wafers processed into solar cells and assembled into complete panels has been encouraging. As a result, we will methodically scale our pilot operations and debug our wafer, cell and panel manufacturing processes for thin ribbons. Based on our preliminary work to date, we would expect to be able to achieve production status by the end of 2005. Additionally, we expect this breakthrough should position us even more favorably with potential partners as we proceed with planning for our next commercial expansion," Feldt concluded.
About Evergreen Solar, Inc.
Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR - News) develops, manufactures and markets solar power products utilizing the Company's proprietary low-cost manufacturing technologies. The products provide reliable and environmentally clean electric power in global markets. Solar power applications include complete power systems for electric utility customers choosing to generate their own environmentally benign power, as well as wireless power for remote homes, water pumping, lighting and rural electrification. For more information visit www.evergreensolar.com.
Evergreen Solar® 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 statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the Company's ability to become a low-cost leader or further reduce costs to distance itself from competition; the advantages of, and cost savings associated with, the Company's String Ribbon manufacturing process; the Company's ability to scale its pilot operations and reach full production; the future demand for, performance of, and opportunities for growth in the Company's solar products; future marketing and strategic partnership opportunities; the growth of the photovoltaic industry; and the Company's other business and technology strategies and objectives. 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 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 development of the Company's thin ribbon technology or 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 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; and 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. In addition to the foregoing factors, the other economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other risk factors identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission - including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2004, filed on November 12, 2004 (copies of which may be obtained at the SEC's website at: 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.
Contact:
Evergreen Solar, Inc.
Richard G. Chleboski, 508-357-2221 x708
Chief Financial Officer
investors@evergreensolar.com
or
Investors/Media:
Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc.
Timothy D. Green, 617-542-5300
Vice President
eslr@investorrelations.com |
