SolarWorld Guarantee for Glass-Glass Solar Panel Covers 25 Percent More Power Than Industry-Standard Guarantee for Conventional Panels

SolarWorld, the largest U.S. solar manufacturer for more than 35 years, once again is leading the world’s major solar-panel producers by debuting a leading power-performance guarantee for its Sunmodule Protect glass-glass solar panel that covers about 25 percent more energy generation than the industry-standard 25-year linear power guarantee for conventional solar panels. The Sunmodule Protect, along with its guarantee, will be available for review at SolarWorld’s booth (No. 7609) at the Intersolar North America Exhibition from July 9 to 11 in San Francisco.

The Sunmodule Protect guarantee covers 30 years of power performance, a 20 percent gain from the industry-standard 25 years. The policy also limits declines in performance protection to .35 percentage points in each of the 30 years – the lowest degradation rate for such a guarantee among major world industry producers.

Compared with energy generation guaranteed under a standard 25-year linear guarantee, the power guarantee for Sunmodule Protect solar panels in a hypothetical 250-kilowatt system installed in Southern California would cover additional generation that under typical meteorological conditions would be expected to realize a net present value of $25,981, assuming a commercial retail energy rate of 10.12 cents per kilowatt hour, an annual utility inflation rate of 3 percent and a discount rate of 12 percent. Under the same assumptions, similar systems would guarantee additional energy generation typically worth $24,075 in Austin, Texas, and $25,158 in Newark, N.J.

The panel is no heavier than a standard, 46-pound glass-film panel. The product substitutes a panel’s conventional backsheet with lightweight glass to better shield energy-producing solar cells against stress and environmental factors. In addition, they come with the same sturdy aluminum frame used in Sunmodule Plus glass-film panels.

Because Sunmodule Protect provides substantial, long-term power-performance advantages over panels containing polymer-based backsheets, the product can be guaranteed to provide a trail-blazing 86.85 percent of nameplate performance in its 30^th year of service. The debut marks at least the third time when the company has set an industry guarantee milestone, including the first 25-year step guarantee in 1997 and first 25-year linear guarantee in 2009.

"This product and policy advance enables SolarWorld once again to showcase the unbreakable bond between high product reliability and high financial returns,” said Kevin Kilkelly, president of SolarWorld America’s, the company’s commercial unit for the Americas. "In solar, it should be clearer than ever that they are flip sides of the same coin.”

About SolarWorld

SolarWorld AG manufactures solar power systems and in doing so contributes to a cleaner energy supply worldwide. The company, located in Bonn, employs approximately 2,600 people and carries out production in Freiberg, Germany, and Hillsboro, USA. From raw material silicon to the solar module, SolarWorld manages all stages of production ? including its own research and development. Through an international distribution network, SolarWorld supplies customers all over the world with solar modules and complete systems. The company maintains high social standards at all locations across the globe, and has committed itself to resource- and energy-efficient production. SolarWorld has been publicly traded on the stock market since 1999. More information at www.solarworld-usa.com.