SolFocus-Inspira Deal Funds Solar Tracker Innovation

Acquisition Brings Inspira to Next Level; Benefits Global Solar Industry. The deal unites SolFocus, developers of innovative Concentrator Photovoltaic systems with Inspira, providers of high-efficiency solar tracking devices.

SolFocus-Inspira Deal Funds Solar Tracker Innovation; Targets Reliability, Lower Cost and Volume Manufacturing


Acquisition Brings Inspira to Next Level; Benefits Global Solar Industry

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - August 1, 2007 - SolFocus, Inc., manufacturer of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems, announced today that it has acquired Inspira, S.L., a privately owned solar tracker company based in Madrid, Spain. Inspira will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of SolFocus and will continue to market products under its own name. With established global supply chain management and low-cost manufacturing facilities, SolFocus will enable Inspira to drive down the cost of solar trackers.

"We believe this deal, which will provide high-accuracy trackers at a reasonable cost, will be a key element in enabling the anticipated growth of the solar industry," said Ignacio Luque-Heredia, founder of Inspira.

Inspira has developed the industry's most precise and stable tracker controllers, devices that orient flat-plate and concentrated photovoltaic panels toward the sun. Not only is tracking a key element in CPV systems, flat-plate tracking has also become widely recognized for providing dramatic increases in energy output increasing yield by up to 40%. With solar's extensive growth into industrial and power-field applications, the importance of dependable, low-cost trackers—available in high volumes—is of great importance. Because the solar industry relies on trackers to maximize solar energy production, it is critical to ensure that the rapidly expanding industry has the cost structure and volume support it needs to become a mainstream source for providing electricity in the most reliable manner.

"As one of Inspira's major customers, we have first-hand experience with its tracking technology," said Gary D. Conley, SolFocus CEO. "SolFocus will provide the resources to move Inspira to low-cost, volume manufacturing with a strong emphasis on reliability to provide the best possible customer value. From an industry standpoint, this move is a major step forward in reducing the cost of CPV and ultimately achieving grid parity for solar."

About SolFocus
SolFocus develops and markets solar concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems targeted toward industrial and utility-scale applications. Focusing on reliable, low-cost, high-volume manufacturability, SolFocus solar systems will enable a dramatic reduction in the cost of delivering renewable solar energy, and ultimately enable solar to compete with conventional fuels in several large, multi-billion-dollar energy markets. In November 2005, the National Renewable Energy Lab Growth Forum recognized SolFocus' chief executive officer, Gary D. Conley, as its Clean Energy Entrepreneur of the Year. In October 2006, SolFocus was among three winners to be awarded participation in the ISFOC program from Spain's Institute of Concentration Photovoltaic Systems.

About Inspira
Inspira was founded by Ignacio Luque-Heredia in 1995 and has since specialized in the CPV sector, participating in the most important European initiatives in this sector. The company now designs and markets pedestal trackers to mount flat plate PV and CPV. It has developed the specific procedures to design trackers for CPV specifications. Inspira's productions have been used by many of today's major CPV players. Its proprietary tracking control technology, based on the technology used by astronomical observatories, has proven unprecedented accuracy, necessary to increase CPV output and thus decrease costs.

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Media contact:
Adrian Harrington, AxiCom UK for SolFocus
+44 (0)208 392 4075
adrian.harrington@axicom.com

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