Solar pioneer's approach to high-volume manufacturing provides foundation
                 for new economy dominated by 'green jobs'

    HILLSBORO, Ore., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- SolarWorld, a world leader in
high quality solar power technology, today opens North America's largest
solar cell manufacturing facility. The new plant is located in Hillsboro,
Oregon and is expected to reach a capacity of 500 megawatts (MW) by 2011.

    Solar power is increasingly considered the most promising energy
alternative because of advances in technology and high-volume
manufacturing. Facilities like the one SolarWorld is pioneering will reduce
the costs of solar power and increase the number of green jobs,
accelerating commercial and residential installations of solar panels and
overall economic growth.

    "The need for affordable and efficient energy alternatives represents a
global issue and is more critical than ever," said Frank A. Asbeck, CEO of
SolarWorld. "SolarWorld has more than 30 years invested in solar
technologies and today is helping to bring real alternatives to market
through a strategy focused on high-volume manufacturing. The new Hillsboro
facility is our most shining example of this strategy in practice."

    The solar industry is expected to grow to $74 billion in 2017 from $20
billion in 2007, according to a projection by Clean Edge Inc., a market
research firm focused on clean technology. SolarWorld's fully integrated
solar silicon wafer and solar cell production facility will fuel this
burgeoning market. The company expects to employ 1,000 people at the
Hillsboro facility by 2011 to meet this increasing demand worldwide.

    SolarWorld Hillsboro is a 480,000 square foot facility, measuring
one-quarter mile end-to-end. Raw silicon is transformed through the
manufacturing process into solar cells that are shipped to the SolarWorld
Camarillo plant where they are processed into solar panels. SolarWorld
acquired the Hillsboro factory, which belonged to Japan's Komatsu Group, in
March 2007 for $40 million and is investing more than $400 million in the
new facility. The Hillsboro plant today becomes home to SolarWorld
Industries America headquarters.

    "SolarWorld Hillsboro illustrates how we move the needle on delivering
solar energy, and on a global economy that is fueled by green jobs," said
Boris Klebensberger, Chief Operations Officer. "The Pacific Northwest
possesses a hotbed of talent in both silicon manufacturing and
clean-technologies. Oregon is the obvious choice for where to undertake
this new level of solar cell manufacturing."

    Oregon officials, including Governor Ted Kulongoski, Congressmen David
Wu and Senator Ron Wyden joined SolarWorld executives and community members
today for a Grand Opening Ceremony that included a ribbon-cutting ceremony
and tour.

    Headquartered in Germany and founded n 1977, SolarWorld is a veteran of
the clean tech industry in a sea of startups. The company conducted its IPO
in Germany in 1999 when most technology companies were emerged in dotcom.
Today, SolarWorld is one of the most successful clean tech companies on the
planet.

    SolarWorld has production facilities in Germany and the United States,
including in California, Oregon and Washington, and is establishing a joint
venture for module production in South Korea. The company delivers its
products to market from sales offices in Germany, Singapore, South Africa,
Spain and the United States.

    About SolarWorld AG

    The SolarWorld AG group of companies (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a world
leader in high quality solar power technology. The company is involved at
all levels of the solar value chain and combines all activities of the
solar industry from silicon as the raw material to turn-key solar power
system. SolarWorld AG is represented in all the world's solar growth
markets. The group is exclusively dedicated to its core business of
photovoltaic power generation operating production facilities in Germany
and the USA. They in turn supply the SolarWorld AG sales offices in
Germany, Spain, USA, South Africa and Singapore. In South Korea SolarWorld
AG is currently building up a solar module production facility in order to
be able to serve the growing demand in Asia on the spot in the future. The
central element of the business in addition to the sale of turn-key solar
systems and solar modules to the trade is the distribution of solar silicon
wafers to the international solar cell industry. Apart from grid-coupled
(on-grid) products the SolarWorld Group also sells off-grid solar power
solutions that make an important contribution to the sustainable economic
development of threshold and developing countries. Under the name
Solar2World the group has pooled its ethical commitment to solar power
especially in developing countries. SolarWorld AG employs more than 2,000
people worldwide. At the stock market the company is listed among others in
the technology index TecDAX, in the OkoDAX, in the Dow Jones STOXX 600, in
the international MSCI index as well as in the sustainability indices
DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.



     Media Contacts
     Christina Williams
     Page One PR for SolarWorld
     503 206 7775
     503 539 3619
     Christina@pageonepr.com

     Jennifer Cloer
     Page One PR for SolarWorld
     503 746 7577
     503 867 2304
     Jennifer@pageonepr.com

     Anne Schneider
     SolarWorld Group
     PR & Marketing
     25300 Evergreen Road
     Hillsboro, OR 97124
     Mobile: +1 805 444 7425
     Office: +1 503 844 3417
     anne.schneider@solarworld-usa.com

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