EverQ plots IPO and new 80 MW facility

Evergreen Solar, Renewable Energy Corporation (“REC”), and Q-Cells, equal partners in EverQ, have said that a third integrated wafer, cell and panel facility would be constructed in Thalheim, Germany at an initial cost of €125 million net of government grants.

The production boost, which will come on stream in early 2009, will mean EverQ’s production capacity will increase from 100MW to approximately 180MW. The partners also agreed to expand EverQ’s production capacity to approximately 600MW by 2012.

To aid the production expansion the partners also said that they would pursue an IPO for EverQ, though no date was given. However, the partners said that the management and organization of EverQ will be significantly strengthened to build EverQ into an independent company.

The sales and marketing organization at EverQ will be expanded as the distribution of solar panels produced by EverQ will ultimately be marketed under a yet-to-be-determined brand name.

A key part of the expansion plans rely on use by EverQ of Evergreen Solar’s Quad furnace technology with its automated ribbon cutting technology. At the time of the IPO, Evergreen and EverQ will enter into a five -year market-based royalty-bearing cross license to share all new material technology development on Evergreen Solar’s String Ribbon platform.

“The agreement to use Evergreen Solar’s proprietary Quad furnace technology to expand EverQ’s production capacity further validates the unique value proposition that our String Ribbon technology offers to our customers and our joint venture partners,” said Richard M. Feldt, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Evergreen Solar. “Combined with our own aggressive expansion plans to reach 500 MW of capacity by 2012, EverQ’s growth plans will make String Ribbon one of the leading technologies in the photovoltaic industry.”