TORONTO, ONTARIO and SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, Nov 19, 2009 (Marketwire via COMTEX News Network) -- Etrion Corporation (TSX:ETX), a Canadian energy company, and SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ:SPWRA)(NASDAQ:SPWRB), a US-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, today announced an agreement to build four solar power plants, totaling four megawatts, in the Puglia region of southern Italy. SunPower will design and construct the plants, and provide operations and maintenance services.
Etrion CEO Marco Northland commented, "Solar power generation will play an increasingly vital role in our efforts to build more renewable, clean energy sources. SunPower's experienced approach to solar power plant design and construction will allow us to quickly and reliably complete these important projects."
SunPower is installing proprietary SunPower® Tracker technology at the Italian sites. The Tracker follows the sun during the day and delivers up to 25 percent more energy than fixed-tilt systems, while significantly reducing land use requirements.
The Italian bank, Centrobanca, is providing 83 percent of the financing for the project, while an Etrion subsidiary is contributing 17 percent of anticipated project costs.
"SunPower offers a unique value proposition to power plant developers in terms of technology and bankability. Our proprietary Trackers optimize our clients' return on investment while our solid balance sheet and rigorous contract guarantees give financial institutions confidence," said SunPower European Sales Director Mario Riello. "We are very pleased to partner with Etrion to deliver clean, reliable solar power to the rapidly expanding Italian market."
Construction of the first of the four projects is targeted to begin by the end of this month. The first electricity sales from the projects under the Italian feed-in-tariff regime are expected during the third quarter of 2010.
SunPower has more than 500 megawatts of solar power plants installed or under contract around the world, including Italian power plants such as the 24-megawatt Montalto di Castro plant and a 5-megawatt plant in Tolentino. SunPower's Italian operations are located in Milan and Faenza.
About Etrion
Etrion Corporation is a Canadian energy company based in Geneva, Switzerland and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (ticker symbol "ETX"). Etrion is focused on developing, financing, building, owning and operating global electrical power plants based on renewable sources of energy, including solar photovoltaic, solar thermal and wind. For additional information, visit www.etrion.ch.
About SunPower
Founded in 1985, SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ:SPWRA)(NADAQ:SPWRB) designs, manufactures and delivers the planet's most powerful solar technology broadly available today. Residential, business, government and utility customers rely on the company's experience and proven results to maximize return on investment. With headquarters in San Jose, Calif., SunPower has offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. For more information, visit www.sunpowercorp.com.
Etrion's Forward-Looking Information:
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Etrion Corporation (the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements relating to the timing of construction on the Italian solar projects in Italy and the sale of electricity therefrom) are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: (i) construction difficulties or potential delays in the project implementation process; (ii) unanticipated delays or difficulties securing necessary permits, licenses or other governmental approvals; (iii) the risk of continuation of supply of products and components from suppliers; (iv) unanticipated problems with deploying the system on the sites; (v) unanticipated delays in actual electricity generation.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
SunPower's Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that do not represent historical facts and may be based on underlying assumptions. The company uses words and phrases such as "to build", "will", "targeted", and "expected" to identify forward-looking statements in this press release, including forward-looking statements regarding: (a) design, construction, operation and maintenance of four solar power plants; (b) size of the solar power plans; © construction schedule; and (d) commencement of electricity sales. Such forward-looking statements are based on information available to the company as of the date of this release and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some beyond the company's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties such as: (i) construction difficulties or potential delays in the project implementation process; (ii) unanticipated delays or difficulties securing necessary permits, licenses or other governmental approvals; (iii) the risk of continuation of supply of products and components from suppliers; (iv) unanticipated problems with deploying the system on the sites; (v) actual electricity generation; and (vi) other risks described in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 28, 2008, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 27, 2009, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the company's views as of any subsequent date, and the company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any responsibility to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SunPower is a registered trademark of SunPower Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE SunPower Corp.
Etrion Corporation Garrett Soden +41 (22) 715 20 90 info@etrion.ch www.etrion.ch SunPower Corp. Ingrid Ekstrom +1 510 260 8368 iekstrom@sunpowercorp.com www.sunpowercorp.com
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