Bringing Solar to the RNC: City Tour for Solar Educational Exhibit at CivicFest

Business Wire, Sept 2, 2008

Solar Energy Educational Exhibit Travels from Denver to the Twin Cities

BELTSVILLE, Md. & MINNEAPOLIS -- 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 at the Republican National Convention's CivicFest, Minneapolis Convention Center September 1-4. With renewable energy policy becoming one of the foundational issues in the final two months of the presidential campaign, the City Tour for Solar is providing practical information on how to plan, implement and verify the value of municipal and utility solar programs to achieve solar-generated electricity objectives at local, state and national levels.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity for the RNC delegates, renewable energy advocates and citizens concerned about our country's energy security policies to literally get a 'hands-on' education about solar energy," said Carlos Domenech, Chief Operating Officer of SunEdison, a co-sponsor of the City Tour for Solar. SunEdison is North America's largest solar energy services provider.

The City Tour for Solar provides RNC and CivicFest attendees with valuable information about how solar energy provides new "green" jobs. For example, seven job-years are created for every megawatt (MW) of solar energy installed. The tour will also address climate change issues and explain how a secure, local independent power supply can be ensured with solar energy.

Spanning 100 days, the national tour brings 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.

RNC Exhibit Details: FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

-- Monday - Thursday, Sept. 1-4, 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
CivicFest, Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Ave., Minneapolis

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 tour will include practical information on how to plan, implement and verify the value of municipal and utility solar programs.

Domenech further noted, "The reality is that solar is complex. 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."

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.