Global Employees Join Call for Action on Climate Change
SAN FRANCISCO and WUXI, China, March 27 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Suntech Power
Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), the world's largest photovoltaic (PV) module
manufacturer, today announced that it will turn off lights of its solar
headquarters in Wuxi, China from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on Saturday March 28, 2009
in support of WWF's Earth Hour campaign.
"Earth Hour sends a powerful message about the urgent need to protect the
future of our planet through energy conservation and sustainable development,"
said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO. "This is an opportunity to
draw attention to climate change concerns and motivate people, businesses and
governments to consider sustainable alternatives. There are many viable
renewable energy solutions, such as solar, that can generate clean energy and
mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and we should accelerate adoption of these
solutions now."
Around 500 Suntech employees, customers, partners and government officials
will hold an event themed "What do we do if the Earth has no electricity?" in
front of the Suntech headquarters 1MW solar facade in Wuxi, China to support
the Earth Hour campaign. The Suntech headquarters and nearby buildings will
simultaneously turn off lights and conventional energy sources for 1 hour and
rely only on green energy generated and stored from the solar facade. In
addition, Suntech staff from global offices will also switch off lights at
8:30pm on March 28 to reduce their carbon footprint and enjoy the Earth
without energy.
Suntech is committed to utilizing energy efficient technologies at home.
Suntech's state of the art solar headquarters in Wuxi, China incorporates the
world's largest on-grid photovoltaic facade system, with over 2,552
semi-transparent solar panels and an annual power output of over 1 million
kilowatt hours of electricity. The solar energy produced will save over 600
tons of carbon emissions every year. In addition, the headquarters features
energy efficient building materials, geothermal temperature control, movement
sensor lighting and a comprehensive water recycling system.
"We are greatly encouraged to see that governments the world over are
increasingly recognizing the importance of action to prevent climate change,"
added Dr. Shi. "China's new subsidy for building integrated solar solutions is
an excellent example of this, and a strong demonstration of its commitment to
improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions." China's Ministry
of Finance recently announced a subsidy of 20RMB per watt for building
integrated solar systems above 50kW that will support the roll out of solar in
China.
About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative. The WWF-led campaign,
organised in conjunction with Fairfax Media and award-winning advertising
agency Leo Burnett, invites individuals, businesses, governments and
communities to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 28, 2009
at 8:30pm to show their support for action on climate change. The event began
in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008,
more than 50 million people around the globe participated. In 2009, Earth Hour
aims to reach out to 1 billion people in 1,000 cities. For more information
please visit http://www.earthhour.org/ .
About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent
conservation organizations, with almost five million supporters and a global
network active in more than 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the
degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which
humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological
diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable,
and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
About Suntech
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is the world's leading solar
energy company as measured by production output of solar modules. Suntech
designs, develops, manufactures, and markets premium-quality,
high-output, cost-effective and environmentally friendly solar products for
electric power applications in the residential, commercial, industrial, and
public utility sectors. Suntech's patent-pending Pluto technology for
crystalline silicon solar cells improves power output by up to 12% compared to
conventional production methods.
Suntech also offers one of the broadest ranges of building-integrated
solar products under the MSK Solar Design Line(TM). Suntech designs and
delivers commercial and utility scale solar power systems through its wholly
owned subsidiaries Suntech Energy Solutions and Suntech Energy Engineering and
will own and operate projects greater than 10 megawatts in the United States
through Gemini Solar Development Company, a joint venture with MMA Renewable
Ventures. With regional headquarters in China, Switzerland and the United
States and sales offices worldwide, Suntech is passionate about improving the
environment we live in and dedicated to developing advanced solar solutions
that enable sustainable development. For more information, please visit
http://www.suntech-power.com .
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements
constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can
be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates,"
"future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements,
and includes the ability of the 1MW solar fa?ade to generate over 1 million
kilowatt hours of energy per year and the amount of carbon emissions saved
every year from the solar energy produced. Such statements involve certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding
these and other risks is included in Suntech's filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F.
Suntech does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except
as required under applicable law.
For further information, please contact:
In China:
Rory Macpherson
Investor Relations Director
Tel: +86-21-6288-5574
Email: rory@suntech-power.com
In the United States:
Sanjay M. Hurry
Vice President
The Piacente Group, Inc. (Investor Relations Counsel, Suntech)
Tel: +1-212-481-2050
Email: suntech@tpg-ir.com
SOURCE Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd.
-0- 03/27/2009
/CONTACT: In China: Rory Macpherson, Investor Relations Director,
+86-21-6288-5574, rory@suntech-power.com; or In the United States: Sanjay M.
Hurry, Vice President of The Piacente Group, Inc. (Investor Relations Counsel,
Suntech), +1-212-481-2050, suntech@tpg-ir.com/
/Web site: http://www.suntech-power.com
http://www.earthhour.org /
(STP)
CO: Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd.
ST: China
IN: OIL ENV GRE
SU:
AR-JH
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1070 03/27/2009 08:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
