SEMI and SolarTech Announce Strategic Photovoltaic Partnership

Market Wire, October, 2008

SEMI PV Group, the global industry association serving the PV/solar manufacturing supply chain, and SolarTech, an initiative of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a consortium of leaders in the solar industry, committed to reducing the barriers to Solar -- today announced a collaboration agreement that is expected to benefit the entire US PV manufacturing supply chain from equipment and materials suppliers to cell/module makers to installers of PV systems, city governments and utilities. The formal announcement was made today during a SolarTech event held at Solar Power International 2008.

"This is an important local agreement that holds global implications for SolarTech and the SEMI PV Group membership," said Dan Martin, SEMI executive vice president. "SEMI's global reach will help SolarTech expand beyond the Silicon Valley, and this relationship will help SEMI PV Group members and their customers understand overarching supply chain issues and identify critical areas needing improvement."

"The SolarTech mission is to increase the velocity of PV adoption by developing standards and best practices across the entire value chain," said Doug Payne, Director of Business Operations for SolarTech. "A SolarTech/SEMI PV Group collaboration expands the value we bring to our respective members, providing critical insight to companies from equipment manufacturer members to system integrators and permitting utilities."

The memorandum of understanding signed by the groups will focus on the development of standards, especially at the deployment level, where the scope of SEMI Standards ends, and cell and module safety, performance, interconnection, installation and other standards are required. In addition to the development of standards, SEMI brings a unique and diversified community to the collaboration that greatly influences market development and the supply and demand curve worldwide.

About SolarTech

SolarTech, as an initiative of Silicon Valley Leadership Group, is a collaborative organization formed to create a Solar Center of Excellence in Silicon Valley. The purpose is to identify, prioritize, and resolve technical and market barriers to solar technology by addressing issues of performance, processes, standards, and workforce readiness. The SolarTech consortium's industry-spanning collection of products, services, and processes will assure member companies achieve faster time to market, with lower risk, and higher consumer adoption of solar powered systems. SolarTech is actively recruiting new member companies from every part of the solar energy value chain. To become a member of SolarTech or to get more information about the organization visit the website www.solartech.org .

About SEMI PV Group

The SEMI PV Group is a special interest group dedicated to serving the photovoltaic/solar manufacturing supply chain. SEMI is the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries. Our member companies are the engine of the future, enabling smarter, faster and more economical products that improve our lives. Since 1970, SEMI has been committed to helping members grow more profitably, create new markets and meet common industry challenges. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.pvgroup.org or www.semi.org .

Association Contact: Scott Smith SEMI Public Relations Tel: 1.408.943.7957 Email: Email Contact