Solar Industry Award for Innovation Now Underway

The Intersolar AWARD 2010 Enters its Third Phase With the Additional Award Category "PV Production Technology" and a New International Orientation

MUNICH, February 22, 2010 - Along with the previously established fields of "Photovoltaics" and
"Solar Thermal Technology", the Intersolar Award 2010 will be presented for
the first time in the category of "PV Production Technology". And yet another
new development awaits companies in the solar industry: In addition to
exhibitors at Intersolar Europe in Munich, exhibitors at Intersolar North
America in San Francisco are now entitled to enter for the first time. Prizes
will be presented on June 9 as part of an official ceremony, with the
deadline for submissions closing on April 16, 2010.

As the world's largest exhibition for the entire solar industry,
Intersolar Europe is the most important platform for showcasing
groundbreaking technologies and innovations in the fields of photovoltaics
and solar thermal technology. This makes Intersolar Europe not only the hub
of an international industry, but an indicator of the innovative strength
within it. And so, the Intersolar AWARD will be presented for the third time
in 2010 by the organizers of Intersolar Europe - Solar Promotion GmbH,
Pforzheim and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM),
in association with the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar).

This year, with the support of the PV Group (an initiative of the
international semiconductor association SEMI which specializes in
photovoltaics) the category "PV Production Technology" is being introduced to
expand the field of "Photovoltaics". Together with the field of "Solar
Thermal Technology", an award category already featured in previous years,
the Intersolar AWARD now acknowledges the entire spectrum of solar technology
represented at Intersolar Europe and Intersolar North America. "The
Intersolar AWARD has established itself as the international technology prize
in the solar industry. With the expansion into the category of PV Production
Technology, for the first time we are now offering all exhibitors an
extensive platform to present their technological innovations, both within
the industry and to the wider public," says Markus Elsasser, CEO of Solar
Promotion GmbH.

Along with exhibitors at Intersolar Europe in Munich, exhibitors at
Intersolar North America in San Francisco are now entitled to enter for the
first time. "By expanding the sphere of participants we want to do justice to
the internationalization and growing interconnection of the industry and its
technologies. Our aim is to continue to promote competition and to highlight
the industry's potential across the world," explains Klaus W. Seilnacht, CEO
of FWTM.

The prize winners will be chosen in a multi-stage selection process.
Firstly, a specialist panel will select the ten best entries in the
categories Solar Thermal Technology, Photovoltaics and PV Production
Technology. A jury of experts from research, science, industry and trade
media will then award the winners in each of the three fields with the
Intersolar AWARD 2010.

The winners will be presented with their awards as part of an official
ceremony during the course of the trade fair on June 9 at the Innovation
Exchange in Hall C3. Given the enormous interest that Intersolar Europe
attracts within the industry, the Intersolar AWARD promises a high level of
interest for nominees and winners alike. "Together with the organizers of
Intersolar Europe, we not only want to acknowledge the innovative strength of
the solar industry but also to create an incentive for companies to play an
active part in shaping the future of lasting energy provision and to compete
at an international level," says Carsten Kornig, CEO of BSW-Solar.

Evaluation Criteria

Participation is open only to products, solutions and services being
exhibited for the first time at Intersolar Europe or Intersolar North America
in 2010, or to those showing significant development compared to previous
trade fair exhibits. Submissions must have undergone industrial trials or
already be in industrial use. Moreover, they must be classed as especially
innovative with regard to their technology and efficiency. The jury will
judge submissions based on the extent of their technological innovation,
their benefit for industry, the environment and society and their economic
viability. The deadline for submissions closes on April 16, 2010.

Interested companies can register in the Exhibitor Service section of the
Intersolar Europe website and subsequently gain access to the registration
documents download area.

Intersolar Europe will take place in the New Munich Trade Fair Centre
from June 9-11.

Further information regarding Intersolar Europe is available online at
www.intersolar.de

Sponsors of Intersolar Europe

Sponsoring Intersolar Europe are the leading industry associations in the
solar field: the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) as the
exclusive partner of Intersolar, the German Solar Energy Society (DGS), the
European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) and the International
Solar Energy Society (ISES), with the support of the European Photovoltaic
Industry Association (EPIA).

About Intersolar

With over 1,900 exhibitors and 77,000 visitors spanning three continents,
Intersolar is the world's leading exhibition for the entire solar industry.
Today Intersolar Europe is the largest individual Intersolar event. With over
1,400 exhibitors and more than 58,000 visitors in 2009, Intersolar Europe is
the world's largest trade fair for the solar industry. It focuses on the
fields of photovoltaics and solar thermal technology, and since it was first
held has established itself as the industry's leading international trade
fair among manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers and service providers alike.

In addition to Intersolar Europe, Intersolar North America was launched
in San Francisco in 2008. 2009 then saw the premiere of Intersolar India in
Hyderabad. This year Intersolar Asia is represented for the first time with
its own pavilion at SOLARCON China in Shanghai. Intersolar Europe is
organized by Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim and Freiburg Wirtschaft
Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG. The trade fairs in North America, India
and China are organized by the subsidiaries Solar Promotion International
GmbH, Pforzheim and Freiburg Management und Marketing International GmbH
(FMMI).

You can find further information on Intersolar Europe at
www.intersolar.de.

    Contact:

    Solar Promotion GmbH | Postfach 100 170 | 75101 Pforzheim | Germany
    Horst Dufner | Tel.: +49(0)7231-58598-0 | Fax: +49(0)7231-58598-28
    info@intersolar.de

    Press contact:

    fischerAppelt Kommunikation Munchen GmbH
    Infanteriestrasse 11a | 80797 Munchen | Germany

    Robert Schwarzenbock | Tel. +49(0)89-747466-23 | Fax +49(0)89-747466-66
    rs@fischerAppelt-relations.de

    Iris Funke | Tel. +49(0)89-747466-221 | Fax +49(0)89-747466-66
    ifu@fischerAppelt-relations.de

Contact: Solar Promotion GmbH | Postfach 100 170 | 75101 Pforzheim | Germany, Horst Dufner | Tel.: +49(0)7231-58598-0 | Fax: +49(0)7231-58598-28, info at intersolar.de; Press contact: fischerAppelt Kommunikation Munchen GmbH, Infanteriestrasse 11a | 80797 Munchen | Germany; Robert Schwarzenbock | Tel. +49(0)89-747466-23 | Fax +49(0)89-747466-66, rs at fischerAppelt-relations.de; Iris Funke | Tel. +49(0)89-747466-221 | Fax +49(0)89-747466-66, ifu at fischerAppelt-relations.de