BlueChip Energy Subsidiary to Become Third Largest Producer of Solar PV Panels in the United States

Lake Mary, FL., May 17, 2011 – Advanced Solar Photonics (ASP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BlueChip Energy Group and a leading manufacturer of crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, today announced that it is expanding its solar PV module production capacity to 100 megawatts (MW) and adding cleantech jobs this year.

ASP’s production lines cover the complete PV module manufacturing process from start to finish. The additional production capacity will make ASP the third largest producer of crystalline silicon PV modules in the United States – and the only one in the State of Florida. ASP is also one of the few producers in the United States of Buy American Act compliant products suitable for government, military and municipal projects and meeting the requirements of Section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

“Our expanded production capacity will not only meet the needs of current utility-scale projects but will also provide a stable supply of high-efficiency, competitively-priced modules for our global customers. This expansion, as part of our vertically integrated structure, ensures our costs are competitive with solar projects using PV modules made in China.” said Wayne Tupuola, Vice-President of Operations for the company.

With the increase in production capacity, ASP will create more than 50 additional manufacturing, operations, and business development jobs in Central Florida. The company plans to further expand production capacity to 250 MW in the next three years. The expansion will allow the company to meet very strong demand for its American-made and UL-certified BlackStar series 250 Watt and 390 Watt modules from US markets with a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) and other solar incentives, especially New Jersey, Colorado, California and Pennsylvania.

ASP purchased the PV module manufacturing facility formerly operated by BP Solar in Maryland. ASP installed and calibrated the acquired equipment and started production in autumn, 2010. The three PV module production lines currently have an annual capacity of 75 MW in three shifts and utilize over 50 different units of robotic, automatic, and manually-operated pieces of manufacturing equipment.

ASP also produces PV modules for use in the large-scale solar projects currently being built by its parent company BlueChip Energy. The vertically integrated structure of the BCE Group, with a presence on each segment of the solar power value chain – from PV module manufacturing to project development, engineering, procurement and construction, operation and maintenance and electricity sales – allows the company to build solar projects at an installed cost per Watt competitive with conventional power plants.

ASP crystalline silicon PV modules in the 230 to 250 Watts range have an average conversion efficiency of 17%. Based on the latest cell efficiency, light transmission, and encapsulation technologies ASP PV modules are among the most advanced and efficient solar energy generating devices available. Using proprietary technology on its R&D line, the company is also developing the next generation of PV modules featuring a frameless glass-to-glass technology.