SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR) announced today that the SunPower Horizons program, the company's suite of educational programs, has reached more than 10,000 students in the U.S. since 2008.
For students from kindergarten age through college, the SunPower Horizons program offers hands-on curriculum, lesson plans and teacher professional development to support student engagement and knowledge retention in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The program is designed to prepare students for STEM-related advanced academic study and professional careers by building STEM knowledge as well as skills in critical thinking, communication and collaboration.
"As solar power plays an increasingly critical role in meeting global energy demand, students participating in SunPower Horizons programs may become the engineers and business leaders charting our energy future," said Howard Wenger, SunPower president, business units. "In the process of learning about solar technology and energy solutions, the students' enthusiasm and ability to understand complex concepts is very inspiring. SunPower is proud of the increasing number of participants in the SunPower Horizons program we attract each year."
SunPower Horizons program offerings range from an innovative Summer Solar Energy Academy, which is a work-based summer learning experience in solar energy, to classroom project-based STEM curriculum delivered in partnership with Project Lead the Way, a provider of world-class STEM programs.
According to 2015 data from The Solar Foundation, the number of solar industry jobs is increasing almost 12 times faster than growth of the overall U.S. economy. With nearly 209,000 solar jobs in the U.S. by the end of 2015, the solar sector is expected to increase approximately 15 percent this year.
SunPower is a leader in delivering energy solutions to California school districts. At 21 school districts across the state, the company has installed solar power systems totaling more than 87 megawatts which, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, is enough to power almost 14,000 average California homes.
In 2014, The Solar Foundation estimated that more than 3,700 K-12 schools in the U.S. have solar power systems, serving nearly 2.7 million students across the nation and saving about $77.8 million in electricity costs annually.
About SunPower
As one of the world's most innovative and sustainable energy companies, SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR) provides a diverse group of customers with complete solar solutions and services. Residential customers, businesses, governments, schools and utilities around the globe rely on SunPower's more than 30 years of proven experience. From the first flip of the switch, SunPower delivers maximum value and superb performance throughout the long life of every solar system. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, SunPower has dedicated, customer-focused employees in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America. For more information about how SunPower is changing the way our world is powered, visit www.sunpower.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding worldwide product demand and market forecasts. These forward-looking statements are based on our current assumptions, expectations and beliefs and involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause results, performance or achievement to materially differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) competition in the industry and downward pressure on average selling prices; (2) our liquidity, substantial indebtedness, and our ability to obtain additional financing for our projects and our customers; (3) our ability to meet our cost reduction targets; (4) regulatory changes and the availability of economic incentives promoting use of solar energy; (5) challenges inherent in constructing and maintaining certain of our large projects, such as the Solar Star projects; (6) the success of our ongoing research and development efforts and commercialization of new products and services; (7) fluctuations in our operating results; (8) manufacturing difficulties that could arise; and (9) challenges managing our joint ventures. A detailed discussion of these factors and other risks that affect our business is included in filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from time to time, including our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, particularly under the heading "Risk Factors." Copies of these filings are available online from the SEC or on the SEC Filings section of our Investor Relations website at investors.sunpowercorp.com. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information currently available to us, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.
© 2016 SunPower Corporation. All Rights Reserved. SUNPOWER, the SUNPOWER logo, and SUNPOWER HORIZONS are trademarks or registered trademarks of SunPower Corporation in the U.S. and other countries as well.
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SOURCE SunPower Corp.