TMCnet News
Solar Photovoltaic Module Manufacturing and Solar Electricity Production Project Announced in Northern New Mexico BEDFORD, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- April 16, 2004 -- Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR) today announced that at the Financing the Future of Energy workshop at the North American Energy Summit, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, four companies announced the signing of an agreement to locally manufacture/assemble solar modules to be used to generate solar electricity in the rural communities of northern New Mexico. The companies are Kit Carson Electric Cooperative and SolarPort, both of Taos, New Mexico, Spire Corporation of Bedford, Massachusetts, and New Energy Capital of Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts.Governor Bill Richardson endorsed the project during an announcement of several energy initiatives at the workshop. The parties also agreed to support the creation of the PowerTaos!(TM) education, public awareness and marketing campaign with involvement by local, State and federal agencies, local businesses, non-profit organizations, national laboratories, and the utility customers of northern New Mexico. Dan Reicher, President of New Energy Capital, said, "We are excited by the momentum we see in New Mexico for solar energy, and by Governor Richardson's leadership in bringing rural communities, utilities and entrepreneurs together to realize the benefits of solar energy in northern New Mexico". Reicher was formally the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy. Spire Corporation is the world's leading supplier of solar module manufacturing equipment, providing equipment to more than 150 facilities in 42 countries worldwide. Spire recently developed a similar project, Spire Solar Chicago, a solar module assembly plant located in Chicago, in collaboration with the City of Chicago, the local electric utility, ComEd, and the State of Illinois. Roger G. Little, President and CEO of Spire, said, "We're excited to be working in Taos. We see this as a logical next step to bring to New Mexico some of the clean energy benefits we're seeing work in Chicago." Joel Goldblatt, SolarPort's Manager and Co-Founder, said, "SolarPort is a new, renewable energy provider: we're at the right place, at the right time for solar energy in New Mexico. In support of Governor Richardson's call to make New Mexico "The Clean Energy State", we look forward to launching the PowerTaos!(TM) Campaign". SolarPort uses solar power generation and distribution, co-located with energy-efficient greenhouses, to create new jobs, involve local entrepreneurs, and create new education and commerce opportunities centered around making, selling and using solar electricity within the community. Luis Reyes, Kit Carson CEO, said, "Kit Carson is ready to lead the rural electric cooperatives with this project, to bring clean, renewable solar electricity into the homes and businesses of our members, and create a new surge of exciting economic development for northern New Mexico." Spire Corporation provides products and services based upon a common technology platform to the solar, biomedical and optoelectronics industries worldwide. Certain matters described in this news release may be forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk of dependence on market growth, competition and dependence on government agencies and other third parties for funding contract research and services, as well as other factors described in the Company's Form 10-KSB filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
