News

1 December 2006

 

Emcore buys $18m stake in terrestrial solar-power firm WorldWater & Power and signs $100m supply contract

Emcore Corp of Somerset, NJ, USA, which manufactures GaAs-based solar cells on germanium substrates as well as compound semiconductor components and subsystems, is investing $18m in a 31% equity stake (26.5% on a fully
diluted basis) of WorldWater & Power Corp of Pennington, NJ, which was founded in 1984 to supply terrestrial solar-power systems to developing nations for applications such as water pumping.

Emcore has also formed a strategic alliance and supply agreement to be WorldWater's exclusive supplier of high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells, assemblies, and concentrator subsystems, with a contract valued at up
to $100m over the next three years.

Emcore has already invested $13.5m in a first tranche. The closing of the remaining $4.5m second tranche is expected by the end of this year, after the definitive strategic agreement is signed. Emcore will also gain two seats on WorldWater¹s board of directors.

"This strategic investment represents a shift in Emcore's terrestrial photovoltaic strategy by becoming, with WorldWater, a solution provider rather than just a component supplier," says Emcore's president and CEO
Reuben F. Richards. "By connecting Emcore's space and terrestrial cell technology with WorldWater's specialized electrical drives for applications such as pumping water for water utilities and irrigation for farms, we should command a significant segment of the rapidly growing distributed
solar energy market," he adds.

"A significant percentage of the world's electrical consumption is used to run pumps and motors," says Richards. "WorldWater's broad marketing experience and capabilities combined with Emcore's terrestrial solar cell
and system technology will lead to significant market opportunities for utility-scale power as well as for markets on the retail side of the meter, such as water pumping for agriculture and village-scale power."

"Concentrated photovoltaic systems are the keys to reducing the cost per watt of power generated," says WorldWater's founder and chairman Quentin T. Kelly. "This major financing from Emcore will enable WorldWater to
substantially increase our core business of blending and/or replacing the electric grid with solar power and supplying solar electric drives able to operate motors and pumps up to 600hp for large commercial projects, whether in the agricultural, water utility or other industrial fields." In the last year, WorldWater revenues have risen from $2m in 2005 to a projected $17m for 2006. "Emcore's $18m investment will help us to meet our working capital
needs in expectation of achieving major growth in revenue next year," Kelly adds.

Visit Emcore: http://www.emcore.com

Visit Worldwater: http://www.worldwater.com