City Tour for Solar Addresses Democratic National Convention's Call for Increased Renewable Energy

Business Wire, August 26, 2008

BELTSVILLE, Md. -- A solar tour, designed to educate municipal leaders, community members, public schools, universities and utilities on how to make solar energy a meaningful power resource for their cities, will exhibit during the Democratic National Convention at Denver's Green Frontiers Fest /New Energy Station at Sculpture Park, and Coors Field "SEIA SUNFEST" Concert. Providing practical information on how to plan, implement and verify the value of municipal and utility solar programs, the City Tour for Solar offers interactive demonstrations that explain how solar power is a vital resource for achieving new renewable energy objectives at local, state and national levels. A key plank of the DNC energy platform calls for enacting legislation that would require 10 percent of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2012.

Spanning 100 days, the national tour will bring interactive educational exhibits to 50 cities in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Minnesota and Colorado. The exhibits, powered by solar energy, will be transported by colorful biodiesel-fueled trucks http://www.CityTourforSolar.com.

Denver DNC dates include:

* Sunday, August 24 - Thursday, August 28: Green Frontiers Fest's New Energy Station at Sculpture Park, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

* Wednesday, August 27: Coors Field "SEIA SUNFEST" Concert For SUNFEST - RSVP for your ticket at: http://www.seia.org/meetingsandevents

SunEdison, North America's largest solar energy services provider, is the lead sponsor of the tour with four leading solar industry companies: Evergreen Solar, Inc., a manufacturer of solar power panels; United Solar Ovonic, LLC, a manufacturer of thin-film solar laminates; SMA America, Inc., a manufacturer of solar inverters; and Xantrex Technology, Inc., a manufacturer of advanced power electronic products, including solar inverters.

With rising and volatile energy costs and increasing environmental concerns, community leaders, citizens and energy companies are searching for more information about solar and renewable energy. City Tour for Solar will educate city leaders and managers on how to turn a public demand for renewable energy into reality with clean, predictably priced solar electrical power.

"The reality is that solar is complex," said Carlos Domenech, chief operating officer, SunEdison. "There are key concepts like 'interconnection standards,' 'net-metering' and others that national, state and local officials need to understand in order to make the right decisions about solar for their communities. We are simply bringing the knowledge to them as an industry, so cities can deploy cost-effective solar energy when and where it makes sense to them. We commend our industry partners Evergreen Solar, United Solar Ovonic, SMA America and Xantrex for making this city tour a reality."

Solar energy provides new 'green' jobs, addressing climate change issues and ensuring a secure, local independent power supply. Seven jobs are created for every megawatt (MW) of solar energy installed.

Tour Schedule

The City Tour for Solar began Friday, August 1, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., and will visit 50 cities in the Western United States. The tour will conclude on November 14, in Sacramento, Calif. For updated information on the tour please visit: http://www.CityTourforSolar.com

About SunEdison

Sun Edison LLC is North America's largest solar energy services provider and operates across a global marketplace. SunEdison provides solar-generated energy at or below current retail utility rates to a broad and diverse client base of commercial, municipal and utility customers. For more information about SunEdison, please visit http://www.sunedison.com.

About Evergreen Solar

Evergreen Solar, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets String Ribbon[TM] solar power products using its proprietary, low-cost wafer technology. The company's patented wafer manufacturing technology uses significantly less polysilicon than conventional processes. Evergreen Solar'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.

About United Solar Ovonic

United Solar Ovonic LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER), manufactures and sells thin-film solar laminates that convert sunlight to energy using proprietary technology. Distributed globally under the UNI-SOLAR([R]) brand, the company's products are ideally suited for cost-effective solar roofing solutions because they are lightweight, durable, flexible, can be integrated directly with building materials, and generate more energy in real-world conditions. http://www.uni-solar.com

About SMA America

SMA America, Inc. is a proud part of the worldwide SMA family of companies, with divisions in nine countries on four continents, boasting over 2,000 employees, and continuous double-digit growth. SMA America supports installers and small businesses in the solar industry through marketing and training assistance. Since 2000, SMA America has shown unfaltering commitment to the continued development and implementation of leading-edge products, including some of the most efficient solar inverters available nationwide. http://www.sma-america.com