SunPower and K6 Partner on Two Solar Power Plants in Italy

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Mar 09, 2010, 03:05 ET

MILAN, March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA, SPWRB) and K6 S.a.S. today announced an agreement under which the companies are building two 1-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants in the Puglia region, Italy. The two plants are located in Casamassima and Conversano and will be complete by August 2010.

The clean, renewable solar power generated by the plants will provide electricity locally, and contribute to Italy's national electric grid.

"The cooperation with SunPower is consistent with K6's strategy to develop highly efficient solar parks," said Luciano Di Filippo of K6. "SunPower's most efficient tracker will allow us to achieve optimal energy production, meeting our target financial model in the time period expected and helping to drive renewable energy."

At the sites, SunPower will install SunPower panels, the most efficient solar panels commercially available, and the proprietary SunPower® T20 Tracker technology. The Tracker follows the sun during the day and delivers up to 30 percent more energy than fixed-tilt systems, requiring only half the land area to produce the same amount of energy as conventional dual-axis trackers. A non-ground penetrating, pre-cast concrete foundation option minimizes environmental impact. Real-time, remote monitoring and control is enabled via the SunPower TMAC Advanced Tracker Controller.

"We are delighted to expand our portfolio of Italian solar power plant projects with these two latest parks we are designing and building for K6," said Luca Bandini, general manager of SunPower Italia. "SunPower has leveraged its global power plant experience to offer cost saving enhancements to its T20 Tracker technology, including remote monitoring and control capabilities that enable seamless integration with power plant supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems."

SunPower has more than 200 megawatts of solar power plants operating globally today, including Italy's largest solar power plant, the 24-megawatt plant in Montalto di Castro. Earlier this month, SunPower announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire SunRay Renewable Energy, a leading European solar power plant developer with offices in Europe and the Middle East, including a principle project office in Rome. Upon closing the transaction, SunPower will acquire a project pipeline of solar PV projects totaling more than 1,200 megawatts (MW) in Italy, France, Israel, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Greece.

About K6

K6 S.a.S. was founded in November 2008 as an Italian investment and management company based in Milan. K6 is focused on developing, financing, building, owning and operating solar parks, which are developed coherently with business evolution and technological improvements. With strong management and technical capabilities, due to previous experience and a solid background, the management team is continually involved in identifying opportunities, taking into account environmental matters, to build plants that are able to deliver clean and reliable renewable energy solutions. In 2010, K6 is focused on developing and connecting to the grid approx 20 MW in the southern part of Italy.

About SunPower

Founded in 1985, SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA, 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.

SunPower 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. This document uses words and phrases such as "will" to identify forward-looking statements in this press release, including forward-looking statements regarding: (a) construction schedule; (b) energy production, efficiency and savings; (c) SunPower's acquisition of SunRay Renewable Energy; and (d) SunRay's project pipeline that could ultimately be developed. Such forward-looking statements are based on information available to SunPower as of the date of this release and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some beyond its 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 systems on the sites; (v) actual electricity generation; (vi) the actual energy consumption rate; (vii) unexpected changes in utility service rates; (viii) variations in carbon dioxide emissions reductions; (ix) the satisfaction of closing conditions and the possibility that the transaction may not be completed, (x) potential difficulties associated with integrating the combined businesses, and (xi) other risks described in SunPower'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 SunPower's views as of any subsequent date, and SunPower 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.