In a show of the explosive growth in the solar power industry, solar power product supplier Evergreen Solar has signed a sales agreement with Maryland-based SunEdison for its low-cost “String Ribbon” wafer technology.

Under terms of the agreement, Evergreen will ship approximately $200m of photovoltaic modules to SunEdison over the next five years, the companies reported.

Massachussetts-based Evergreen believes this agreement underscores the growth potential of its photovoltaic module product line and aligns it with an emerging solar power leader.

SunEdison provides solar generated energy at or below current retail utility rates to a broad and diverse client base - from public agencies to private enterprises to non-profit organisations.

Richard M. Feldt, Evergreen Solar’s president and CEO said: “The agreement also demonstrates the strategic importance of EverQ - our partnership with Q-Cells and Renewable Energy Corp. The recent announcement of our intention to expand EverQ's capacity to 80MW in 2007 and up to 300MW by 2010 enables us to continue forging long-term customer agreements with solar industry leaders like SunEdison.”

“SunEdison simplifies solar development projects by offering clients access to the company's innovative Solar Power Service Agreement (SPSA), a finance and service model that allows public, private and nonprofit organisations to buy and use solar electricity generated at their facilities without capital investment,” Feldt explained.

This platform is expected to allow wider access to solar power and supports Evergreen's ultimate goal of converging the cost of solar power with retail grid pricing, he added.

SunEdison said this partnership with Evergreen is integral to its larger goal of building more efficient, more cost-effective systems that create value for customers, according to Brian Jacolick, v-p of sales for SunEdison.

Evergreen said this is its fifth major contract secured since November 2005, which now total more than $600m over the next five years.

The photovoltaic modules will be manufactured at Evergreen Solar’s plant in Massachusetts and at the new 30MW EverQ factory in Thalheim, Germany.

EverQ's existing solar module manufacturing plant in Thalheim, Germany, produces Evergreen Solar's high-output Spruce Line of photovoltaic panels.

Products fabricated by EverQ use Evergreen Solar's patented String Ribbon manufacturing process, which is believed to be substantially more efficient in the use of silicon than conventional sliced crystalline technologies.

EverQ is a strategic partnership of Evergreen, Q-Cells of Germany, and Renewable Energy of Norway. Q-Cells manufactures crystalline silicon solar cells while Renewable Energy manufactures solar-grade silicon and multicrystalline wafers.

Evergreen Solar