Rochester Hills, Mich., November 29, 2010 – United Solar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENER), today announced the completion and operation of a solar power project on the rooftop of the Moon Palace Hotel in Cancun, Mexico, owned by Palace Resorts and host site for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
This important global event will attract about 20,000 participants from nations around the world. They will gather in Cancun from November 29 to December 10, 2010, with the objective of discussing future commitments to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
The photovoltaic project team for the Moon Palace Hotel was led by Enel Green Power, one of the leading renewable energy operators worldwide, with support also from the Italian Ministry of the Environment and SEMARNAT, the Mexican Environment Ministry.
“Being selected as the solar power provider of choice for this high-level and important global conference location is a testament to the quality and unique characteristics of UNI-SOLAR™ modules,” said Mark Morelli, President and CEO of United Solar’s parent company, Energy Conversion Devices. “We believe that solar power will continue to play an important role in addressing global climate change.”
The 130 kWp pilot project at the Moon Palace Hotel is capable of generating 220 MWh of electricity per year contributing to a reduction of 110 tons of CO2 emissions annually. Enel Green Power chose UNI-SOLAR™ technology due to its proprietary, thin-film, lightweight characteristics which stand up to the severe weather often found in the Gulf of Mexico region.
United Solar and Enel Green Power have cooperated on numerous projects, including the largest rooftop PV power plant at the Interporto distribution center in Nola, Italy. This 25 MWp project on various buildings, is currently being installed by United Solar’s channel partners General Membrane and Ondulit. Another project between United Solar and Enel Green Power is the 3 MWp installation on the Marcegaglia factory in Taranto, Italy.
About Energy Conversion Devices/United Solar
Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) (NASDAQ: ENER) is a leader in building-integrated and rooftop photovoltaics. The company manufactures, sells and installs thin-film solar laminates that convert sunlight to energy using proprietary technology. ECD’s UNI-SOLAR™ brand products are unique because of their flexibility, light weight, ease of installation, durability, and real-world efficiency. The company also designs, manufactures and installs rooftop photovoltaic systems, which enable customers to transform unused space on the rooftop into a value-generating asset. In addition, ECD’s Ovonic Materials Division is the pioneer in NiMH battery technology, and is developing low cost fuel cells, hydrogen production from bioreformation, and hydrogen storage technologies. For more information, please visit www.energyconversiondevices.com.
About Enel Green Power
Enel Green Power is a publicly listed company and part of the Enel Group. It is dedicated to renewable energy with a presence in Europe, North America and Latin America. It is one of the global leaders in its industry with a total installed capacity of around 5,900 MW and more than 600 plants in operation in 16 countries. The company and its subsidiaries produced 21 billion kWh of energy from water, sun, wind, geothermal and biomass in 2009.
This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning our plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events, future net sales or performance, capital expenditures, financing needs, plans or intentions relating to expansions, business trends and other information that is not historical information. All forward-looking statements are based upon information available to us on the date of this release and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Risks that could cause such results to differ include: our ability to maintain our customer relationships; the worldwide demand for electricity and the market for solar energy; the supply and price of components and raw materials for our products; and our customers’ ability to access the capital needed to finance the purchase of our product. The risk factors identified in the ECD filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, could impact any forward-looking statements contained in this release.
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Investor Relations Contact
Michael E. Schostak, Head of Investor Relations
Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.
(248) 299-6063
investor.relations@energyconversiondevices.com
Public Relations Contact
Wendy Ventura, Manager of Marketing Communications
United Solar
(248) 299-6064
pr@uni-solar.com