Freiburg-based SolarMarkt AG achieves breakthrough in the U.S. market with modules from SCHOTT Solar

SolarMarkt AG has secured itself modules with a capacity of 6.5 megawatts for the U.S. market. A contract that calls for SCHOTT Solar to supply Type ASE 300 and SCHOTT POLYTM 220 large-size modules to the U.S. market on a long-term basis has now been signed by SCHOTT Solar and ThinkSolar, the American subsidiary of SolarMarkt. These premium quality modules that feature POLY and EFG® cells represent an important prerequisite for expanding business in the U.S.

6.5 megawatts of power are to be supplied over the course of three years. ThinkSolar has also reserved itself an option to receive modules with an additional output of one more megawatt. These modules from SCHOTT Solar will be manufactured in the United States and will be made available to the North American market exclusively. As a result, ThinkSolar is now able to offer its customers extremely high quality on a sustained basis. The contract is a result of the strong business relationship that was first established between SolarMarkt AG in Freiburg and SCHOTT Solar GmbH in Alzenau back in the early 1990s.

“This long-term contract puts us in a much better position to plan on a long-term basis,” says Elmar Niewerth, Managing Director of ThinkSolar. “Thanks to these modules from SCHOTT Solar, we will now be moving up to the major league of the solar industry,” he adds. “We intend to leverage the excellent relationship that both companies have here in Europe to achieve mutual success in the United States,” notes Michael Harre, a member of management of SCHOTT Solar. SCHOTT Solar is a global leader in the field of photovoltaics. In order to satisfy the worldwide demand for solar electricity modules, SCHOTT Solar operates different manufacturing sites in Europe and the United States. The modules that SCHOTT Solar will be supplying to ThinkSolar will be manufactured in Billerica, a city located near Boston, as well as in the company’s new site in Albuquerque.

ThinkSolar is a wholesale product distributor and project integrator based in Oakland, California, with a sales office in San Antonio, Texas. As a subsidiary of SolarMarkt AG, a company founded in Freiburg, Germany, in 1985, ThinkSolar provides U.S. contractors with wholesale solar products, engineering expertise, market analysis, and large-scale project management. After achieving one million dollars in sales in 2007, this SolarMarkt subsidiary is looking to achieve 8 million dollars in sales for 2008 – a real breakthrough for ThinkSolar on the U.S. market.

SolarMarkt AG was founded as a spin-off of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, one of the largest PV research institutes in Europe, in 1985. The company has become one of the largest PV wholesalers, with offices in North America, Thuringia, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. Wholesale and construction of large scale PV plants are its key business focuses.

High quality products from SCHOTT Solar utilize the potential of the sun as an inexhaustible source of energy. The company is one of the largest fully-integrated manufacturers of crystalline silicon wafers, cells and modules in the photovoltaic industry. SCHOTT Solar is also one of the leading companies in thin-film technologies. The WACKER SCHOTT Solar joint venture supplies the silicon that is so important for long-term growth.

SCHOTT Solar is headquartered in Alzenau, Bavaria, and has production facilities in Germany, the Czech Republic and the U.S. The company’s innovative power and technological expertise date back to the early days of photovoltaics in the late 1950s. SCHOTT Solar is a fully-owned subsidiary of the SCHOTT international technology group. For almost 125 years, SCHOTT AG has been developing special materials, components and systems for the household appliance, pharmaceuticals, solar energy, electronics, optical and automotive industries. With a total of 16,700 employees, the SCHOTT Group reported global sales of 2.1 billion euros for its most recent fiscal year. The parent company of the SCHOTT Group is SCHOTT AG, with the Carl-Zeiss Foundation as its sole shareholder.

EFG® and SCHOTT POLYTM are registered trademarks of SCHOTT Solar GmbH.

Contact SolarMarkt AG: Beate Suppinger, SolarMarkt AG, Christaweg 42, D-79114 Freiburg, Phone +49/761/120 39-32, Fax +49/761/120 39-19, b.suppinger@solarmarkt.com, www.solarmarkt.com

Press contact SolarMarkt AG: Diethard Weber, PR-Agentur Dr. Klaus Heidler Solar Consulting, Solar Info Center, D-79072 Freiburg, Phone +49/761/38 09 68-22, Fax. +49/761/38 09 68-11, weber@solar-consulting.de, www.solar-consulting.de

Contact ThinkSolar: Christie McCarthy, ThinkSolar SolarMarkt US, 1078 60th Street, Oakland, CA 94608, USA, Phone +1/510/653/5900, Fax +1/510/653/8900, info@thinksolar-us.com, www.solarmarkt.com

Contact SCHOTT Solar GmbH: Lars Waldmann, SCHOTT Solar GmbH, Carl-Zeiss-Str. 4, D-63755 Alzenau, Phone +49/6023/91-1811, Fax +49/6023/91-1700, lars.waldmann@schott.com, www.schott.com/solar