Message #2 From:
NewsBot Date: December 31, 2007 10:29:55 PM
Year End Update at SES Solar
SES Solar Inc. (OTCBB: SESI), a European-based
developer of cost-effective, high productivity solar panels and solar roof
tiles, is pleased to provide a year end update on certain developments with
the Company.
I. Manufacturing Facility Update
As previously announced, we commenced construction of our new manufacturing
facility in July 2007.
Although the start date was delayed due to a change in contractors, we
believe that with the assistance of our new contractor, we are now ahead of
schedule and expect to complete the facility in early 2008.
The official ground laying ceremony, attended by the Minister of Energy for
the Geneva Government, Mr. Robert Cramer, occurred on September 25, 2007.
The Mayor of the Municipality of Plan-les-Ouates and the CEO of the Geneva
Electric Utility ("SIG") were also in attendance. The Geneva Canton and
Geneva Government have shown their support to us by granting leasehold
rights to the land on which the facility is being built in the High
Technology Industrial Park of Geneva, by issuing to us authorization to
build the manufacturing facility and by granting to us several construction
loans.
The concrete work on the facility was finished in early November, three
weeks ahead of schedule, and we were able to commence installation of the
photovoltaic (PV) roof in mid-November. The installation of the PV roof
was completed on December 20.
Our PV roof will be the biggest solar powered roof on a private building in
Switzerland and will be rated 567 kW for a 550,000 kWh production. As
previously disclosed, we entered into an agreement with SIG for them to buy
back the electricity produced by the roof at an above market price. As
part of the financing, we granted to SIG an option to purchase the PV roof
(exclusive of the building).
The cost of the building is expected to reach or exceed $10 million. We
expect that the cost of the machinery necessary for the assembly line will
be approximately $3 million.
II. Commercial Update
Although we are not able to commit to a production date with prospective
clients until the manufacturing facility is completely operational, we do
believe there is strong interest in our products from several markets, and
we are in ongoing discussions with various parties regarding potential
contracts.
In addition, and as jointly announced in a press release at the European
Solar Fair in Freiburg, Intersolar and on Form 8-K filed June 26, 2007, we
have developed with DuPont a PV film that we intend to license to other
solar companies. These licenses would represent a new revenue stream for
us. We also announced, our other latest development regarding a new method
to connect strings of cells at the back of any PV module.
As disclosed on Form 8-K filed November 13, 2007, we renegotiated our
Construction Credit Agreement with Banque Cantonale de Geneve (BCGe)
whereby the loan amount was increased from $4.1 million (CHF 4.8 million)
to $7.6 million (CHF 8.5 million). We also secured another loan from the
Geneva (Switzerland) State Department of Energy ("ScanE") in the amount of
$3.9 million (CHF 4.5 million) at a 5% interest rate. We believe that the
proceeds from these loans will provide us with funds sufficient to complete
our new manufacturing facility and to purchase the equipment necessary to
commence full blow manufacturing and assembly operations in early 2009.
IV. Industry Update
Based on various industry sources, we believe the market for solar PV is
still growing at about 40% per year and additional subsidies are being
planned by different countries (although of course there is no assurance
that they will be implemented) to support the development of solar
electricity. This governmental support is critical as the cost of solar
electricity exceeds the retail price of electricity in every significant
market in the world. To date, France, Spain, Germany and Italy have already
approved subsidies and Switzerland is planning to follow suit in October
2008, after years of hesitation. We believe we are well situated to supply
the growing demand with our high-quality and cost-effective solar tiles and
modules.
V. SB-2 Registration Statement Update
On December 21, 2007, we filed Amendment Number 2 to our resale
registration statement on Form SB-2. We encourage you to read it for
information about our business.
About SES Solar Inc.
SES Solar Inc. is engaged in the business of designing, engineering,
producing and installing photovoltaic ("PV") solar modules and solar tiles
for generating electricity through conversion of the sun's energy. The
Company has developed a new assembly technology for solar panels that it
believes will allow for higher quality electrical contacts, better
performance and reduced costs. Our business plan includes the development
of our new assembly line based on our proprietary technology, using a
manufacturing facility in the suburbs of Geneva, Switzerland which is
currently under construction. For more information, please visit
www.sessolar.com.
Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this news
release include forward-looking statements that are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ
materially from those projected, including, but not limited to: risks
related to the development and implementation of our new manufacturing
processes and facility; risks related to completion, refinement and
management of our supply chain and distribution channels; risks related to
current and future research and development; risks related to customer
acceptance of our products; risks related to competition in the solar
energy field; risks related to the availability of public subsidies; our
history of losses; the historical volatility of our stock prices; general
market conditions; and other risks detailed from time to time in the
Company's reports filed with the Securities Exchange Commission.