Solar company attracted by Empire State’s green business incentives

Hopewell Junction, NY (April 7, 2009) – SpectraWatt, Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of advanced silicon photovoltaic cells to the solar industry, announced today its intention to establish the company’s first factory and its new headquarters at the Hudson Valley Research Park in Hopewell Junction, N.Y. The move would initially create over 100 jobs in the New York region within the first year of operation.

“Between the skilled work force, outstanding support from the Empire State Development Corporation http://www.empire.state.ny.us and the valuable programs offered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority http://www.nyserda.org , the decision to locate in New York was very easy for us,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of SpectraWatt. “We look forward to building a successful future from our new home in the Empire State.”

“SpectraWatt’s decision to bring their headquarters and R&D operations to Dutchess County is an enormous win for the State of New York and is a testament to the State’s ability to attract emerging and fast-growing industries,” said New York Governor David A. Paterson. “Following in the footsteps of world-class technology companies to locate their R&D facilities in New York State, including IBM and General Electric, SpectraWatt’s investment further solidifies New York as a prominent leader in green technology and is a vital component to securing our State’s future economic stability.”

The company, which is in the process of moving from their previous location in Oregon, aims to be in production early in 2010. SpectraWatt’ s first factory line will have an initial manufacturing capacity of 60 megawatts (MW); additional lines are already being planned with site capacity exceeding 120MW within the first two years of operation.

“The solar industry has grown forty-one percent annually in recent years and, according to some forecasts, is expected to continue growing at a thirty-seven percent growth rate over the next five years. The solar industry is perhaps the fastest growing high technology industry in the world today,” said Marisa Lago, CEO and president, Empire State Development (ESD). “With its significant capital investment and creation of many high-paying jobs, SpectraWatt is making an enormous contribution to the State’s economy at a critical time.”

About SpectraWatt SpectraWatt is a manufacturer and supplier of photovoltaic cells for the solar industry. In addition to focusing on advanced solar cell technologies, SpectraWatt concentrates on improvements in current manufacturing processes and capabilities to reduce the cost of photovoltaic energy generation. Its mission is to deliver solar energy at grid parity through product and manufacturing technology innovation. Investors include Intel Capital, Cogentrix Energy, PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund and Solon SE.

Highland, NY (March 29, 2009) – Prism Solar Technologies, Inc. (PST), has announced closing on the acquisition of a new manufacturing site in upstate New York. The site, located in Highland New York, includes 6.5 acres of land and a 93,000 sq. ft manufacturing building. The facility was purchased for $3,750,000 from PLASMACO, a Panasonic facility.  Prism intends to create over two hundred jobs in the first few years and up to 400 over five years. However, some new job creation may occur at another site in the area.  The Highland facility will ultimately produce 60 megawatts of solar modules for domestic markets and 1000 megawatts of HPC film for sale to other solar module manufacturers.  It’s the first time an optics technology will be used to leverage the capacity of the entire solar industry.

“We are extremely excited to have purchased this unique facility” said Rick Lewandowski, Prism’s CEO.  “This will allow us to jump-start our operations and will immediately begin renovating the facility to allow a quick transition to our module manufacturing pilot line and then on to full production.”

Prism’s new plant includes features that would normally be found in a purpose-built site, such as glass handling and glass cleaning equipment, a compete machine shop, specialty optical equipment, 30,000 sq. ft of clean-rooms, a wet lab, facility-wide security and building management systems. Some equipment can be modified to produce thin film and crystalline photovoltaic cells and modules.  “We value this facility, including its equipment and clean rooms, to be over ten times what we paid,” states Tom Kacandes, Prism’s Director of Operations.

“Prism is very fortunate to have a great team working on this project”, said Lewandowski.  “Not only do we have a top level staff, but the network of government and non-governmental people including Congressman Maurice Hinchey, The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC), Ulster County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and County Executive Mike Hein along with local leadership in the Town of Lloyd, have all worked hard to help Prism find a home. Frankly, this is more than we could have hoped for,” Lewandowski went on to say.

“Prism is exactly the kind of solar industry partner that TSEC had hoped to attract to the Mid-Hudson Valley.  The company has industry leading technology, a talented management team, and is community minded.  They are the flagship TSEC partner and we will continue to do everything we can to help them grow quickly in NYS, and we look forward to the good employment opportunity they are creating,” says Vincent Cozzolino, TSEC’s President.

Congressman Hinchey facilitated a $1,000,000 grant for Prism Solar through The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC) earlier this year as part of its financing to begin manufacturing of its patented holographic planar concentrator technology in New York State.  Additional funding for Prism was included in the Omnibus Budget bill passed by the Congress earlier this year.

“These are the moments we hoped for and expected when we created TSEC two years ago and the reason we made subsequent federal investments,” Hinchey said. “With Prism’s expansive new facility in place, hundreds of new jobs will steadily be created over the next several years in Ulster County.  Prism and the rest of TSEC’s partners will help grow our local economy while also helping to free our country of its dependence on foreign oil and other fossil fuels.”

Governor Paterson Commends LIPA and Con Edison for Leadership on Renewable Energy Initiative May Be the Country’s Largest Offshore Wind Project

New York, NY ( March 23, 2009) - Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) President and CEO Kevin S. Law and Consolidated Edison (Con Edison) Chairman and CEO Kevin Burke have announced that their public-private partnership is moving forward with plans for a new phase of study on a major offshore wind farm.

A joint feasibility study released today by the two utilities concluded that an interconnection of up to 700 MW of wind power, located at least 13 miles off the Rockaway Peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean, would be feasible with upgrades to their respective transmission systems.

The proposed “LIPA/Con Edison Offshore Wind Farm” would likely be designed for 350 MW of generation, with the ability to expand it to 700 MW, giving it the potential to be the largest offshore wind proposal in the country. The concept for the offshore wind project emanates from New York State Governor David A. Paterson’s Renewable Energy Task Force and is consistent with the Governor’s “45 by 15″ program, which establishes the goal for the State to meet 45 percent of its electricity needs through improved energy efficiency and renewable sources by the year 2015. LIPA and Con Edison have also filed an application to interconnect the offshore wind project with the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) for up to 1400 MW by 2020, which would permit a future expansion beyond the 700 MW.

“As a state and as a nation, we must find alternative solutions to traditional fossil fuel sources. By taking advantage of the natural resources that New York has to offer, we will position ourselves to be the national leader in renewable and alternative energy as our economy emerges from the current crisis,” said Governor David A. Paterson. “LIPA and Con Edison have partnered to take a lead role in wind power, successfully completing the first phase of this joint partnership with their study of the technical aspects of connecting off-shore wind energy to the state’s electricity system.”

“I am strongly encouraged by the preliminary analysis which demonstrates a large offshore wind project can work in our service territory,” said LIPA President and CEO Kevin S. Law. “As a member of Governor Paterson’s Renewable Energy Task Force, I remain committed to not only continue with the next phase of the process, but also to bring this wind project to fruition if we can make it cost effective for our customers.”
“We are committed to helping the state meet its renewable energy goals, while continuing to support efforts that provide a clean environment for our customers,” said Con Edison Chairman and CEO Kevin Burke. “An offshore wind farm would be an exciting project for New York, and we will work closely with federal, state and municipal leaders to move this process along in a responsible way.”

The formation of the Con Edison and LIPA interdisciplinary working group was announced by the Governor last fall with a goal of studying, among other things, suitable locations for an offshore wind project, transmission and interconnection capabilities, and the availability of wind as an energy source. The information gathered was used to provide a better understanding of the opportunities for such a project and, if feasible, the development of jointly issued request for proposals whereby both utilities could share the cost of the project, as well as the power it generates.

As the second phase begins for the wind project, LIPA and Con Edison will work with the state, the New York Power Authority, New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Port Authority to issue a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) for off-shore wind development. The RFEI serves as a precursor to a Request for Proposals (RFP) to be issued later this year. It is anticipated that other interested state and city agencies will be invited to participate in the project’s next phase and/or the RFP process.

Additional next steps include:

• Creation of a joint LIPA/Con Edison Web site to keep the wind industry, communities and stakeholders informed of the project’s progress;

• Working with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop a Meteorological Tower to assess wind strength in the proposed project location.

In addition, both utilities will begin another round of due diligence that will concentrate on the economics and feasibility of the actual offshore wind farm, including: determining if there is sufficient wind resources to meet the scope of the project; an avian (bird impacts) study, further environmental impacts, economic costs, community impact and the potential number of jobs the project could create.
The offshore wind-power working group marks the first regional partnership project between LIPA and Con Edison.

A copy of the interconnect study may be obtained by following either of the following links:

http://www.lipower.org/newscenter/pr/2009/032009-windstudy.pdf
http://www.coned.com/messages/WindProjectStudy.pdf

Media Contacts:
For LIPA:
Ed Dumas
VP of Communications
516.719.9838 (Office)
631.872.2790 (Cell)

For Con Edison:
Michael Clendenin
Director of Media Relations
212.460.4111