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JIASHAN, China, April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ReneSola Ltd ("ReneSola") (NYSE: SOL), a leading global manufacturer of solar photovoltaic ("PV") modules and wafers, today announced that it has signed a toll manufacturing agreement with Solairedirect SA ("Solairedirect"), a global pioneer of competitive solar power, to produce 120 megawatts ("MW") of solar modules in South Africa.
Under the terms of the agreement, Solairedirect will manufacture 120 MW of ReneSola-branded modules for a period of three years through its South African-based module manufacturing subsidiary, Solairedirect Technologies (Pty) Ltd. In addition, Solairedirect has committed to purchasing 20 MW of the solar modules for use in projects in South Africa and 34 MW of the solar modules for use internationally. Should Solairedirect expand its module production capacity, which it expects to double as early as sometime this year, it may produce additional solar modules for ReneSola under the current tolling agreement.
Mr. Xianshou Li, ReneSola's chief executive officer, said, "We have partnered with Solairedirect to benefit from its module manufacturing capacity and strong market presence in South Africa, as well as to secure low costs through the tolling agreement. As an example of Solairedirect's success in the country, its IPP business recently received preferred bidder status for two solar PV projects in South Africa by the South African Energy Minister Dipuo Peters, who named just 19 preferred bidders out of 79 total bidders in 2012. We are confident in Solairedirect's production capabilities and believe our solar modules, which generate high efficiency with very low sensitivity to variations in temperature, will be of value to solar projects in the region. We look forward to developing a long-term relationship with Solairedirect and will continue to seek opportunities to grow our business in the exciting South Africa market."
Mr. Ryan Hammond, managing director of Solairedirect's South-African based Independent Power Producer ("IPP") subsidiary, added, "As one of the leading solar IPP's in South Africa, we are committed to helping the government deliver solar PV projects that are cost competitive and deliver significant local content. We believe our successful bidding of two projects in the second round of the IPP Procurement Programme proves that this is possible. Our agreement with ReneSola paves the way for delivering projects that are cost competitive and exceed the Economic Development Department's criteria. Furthermore, this agreement will likely lead to the expansion of production capacity at Solairedirect Technologies, creating more jobs in the process. This move demonstrates yet again our continued commitment to invest in the South African solar industry, to create jobs and play a leading role in the growth of the industry."
About ReneSola
Founded in 2005, ReneSola (NYSE:SOL) is a leading global manufacturer of high-efficiency solar PV modules and wafers. Leveraging its proprietary technologies, economies of scale and technical expertise, ReneSola uses in-house virgin polysilicon and a vertically integrated business model to provide customers with high-quality, cost-competitive products. ReneSola solar modules have scored top PVUSA Test Conditions (PTC) ratings with high annual kilowatt-hour output, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC). ReneSola solar PV modules can be found in projects ranging in size from a few kilowatts to multi-megawatts in markets around the world, including the United States, Germany, Italy, Belgium, China, Greece, Spain and Australia. For more information, please visit www.ReneSola.com.
About Solairedirect
Solairedirect is a global pioneer of competitive, community-based solar power generation.
The company was founded in 2006 with the mission of making solar power accessible to all and fully competitive with other sources of energy. It has developed a distinctive model based on innovative engineering to industrialize processes and generate cost-effective and grid-compatible solar power: project development and local government partnerships, module production and systems integration, design and EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) of ground-mounted and rooftop systems, operation and maintenance, structured financing and legal engineering, power sales and smart grid services.
Solairedirect’s business model is based on developing a broad ecosystem of partners in various fields to achieve, on a shared value basis, a broader goal: the development of a low cost and high social value solar power. To maximize the benefit of the project, target partners include communities and local governments (such as with Ester –Electricite Solaire des Territoires – program in France) and utilities, to demonstrate a collaborative approach that complements circuit-level asset management to promote reliability, and that supports related utility programs such as energy efficiency and demand response.
The company has a presence in France, South Africa, India, Chile, Thailand, China and the USA. Solairedirect has 300 employees and a total 120 MW (solar parks and rooftops). In 2011 it had revenues of 213 M€ and net profit of 19 M€.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains statements that 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. Whenever you read a statement that is not simply a statement of historical fact (such as when the Company describes what it "believes," "expects" or "anticipates" will occur, what "will" or "could" happen, and other similar statements), you must remember that the Company's expectations may not be correct, even though it believes that they are reasonable. The Company does not guarantee that the forward-looking statements will happen as described or that they will happen at all. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 20-F. The Company undertakes no obligation, beyond that required by law, to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made, even though the Company's situation may change in the future.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
In China:
Mr. Tony Hung
ReneSola Ltd
Tel: +86-573-8473-9011
E-mail: ir@renesola.com
Mr. Derek Mitchell
Ogilvy Financial, Beijing
Tel: +86-10-8520-3073
E-mail: sol@ogilvy.com
In the United States:
Ms. Jessica Barist Cohen
Ogilvy Financial, New York
Tel: +1-646-460-9989
Email: sol@ogilvy.com
