Governor Perdue participates in ribbon-cutting ceremony for solar-cell manufacturer

ATLANTA—Today Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Suniva, the Southeast’s first solar cell manufacturer. The Atlanta-based company will manufacture high-efficiency, low cost solar cells. The company announced in June 2008 it expects to create 100 green jobs in 2009 with the potential for more as it scales to full production capacity by 2010.

“With patents developed in the laboratories of Georgia Tech, Suniva’s story is a prime example of how Georgia can lead the nation by teaming the strengths of public and private institutions,” said Governor Perdue. “Georgia made a strong commitment to the clean energy industry through its Energy Innovation Center and Bioenergy Corridor, and Suniva’s new facility makes us one of the first states in the nation manufacturing solar cell technology.”

The output of Suniva’s new Gwinnett County production facility will grow in stages. The first 32 megawatt (MW) manufacturing line is already producing cells that are being shipped to customers around the world. The company plans additional production lines to bring the facility’s capacity to 175 MW by early 2010, potentially adding more jobs to its workforce.

Suniva’s founder and CTO, Dr. Ajeet Rohatgi, who is also the founder and director of Georgia Tech’s University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education (UCEP) funded directly through the Department of Energy (DOE), spoke at the event.

“Though Suniva is barely a year old, in some ways today’s ceremony is twenty years in the making,” Rohatgi said. “My life’s work in advancing solar technologies has been made possible as a direct result of government funding and involvement with Georgia Tech. Suniva is the realization of all those years of hard work.”

About Suniva

Based in Atlantra Metro Area, Suniva develops, manufactures and markets high-value crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells for clean solar power generation. The company has an exclusive license to critical patents and patent-pending intellectual property developed by founder and CTO Dr. Ajeet Rohatgi at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education (UCEP), the nation’s premier silicon PV research center. In addition, the company’s deep process know-how and unique approach to manufacturing delivers leading solar cell performance while dramatically cutting the cost of PV-generated electricity. For additional information, please visit http://www.suniva.com .

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