DUPONT TO DO SOLAR IN CHINA

As news of another U.S. solar energy company heading for China follows reports of China's dire earthquake disaster, it is instructive to remember Bank of America. The U.S.' biggest commercial bank was born from the rubble of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake when Amadeo Giannini walked through the devastated streets of the City-By-The-Bay handing out loans from a wheelbarrow of money he had saved from the fires.

Giannini would have fully appreciated the fact that the Chinese symbol for crisis is also the symbol for opportunity.

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DuPont plans China facilities for solar energy
Euan Rocha (w/ Gerald E. McCormick), May 6, 2008 (Reuters)

WHO
DuPont Co. (David Miller, group vice president of electronic & communication technologies)

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WHAT
DuPont will open a solar energy R&D center and a manufacturing plant in China.

WHEN
- The R&D center is expected to come in 2009.
- No ready date has been set for the manufacturing plant.

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WHERE
- The R&D facility will be in Hong Kong.
- The manufacturing plant will be in Shenzhen.

WHY
- DuPont expects the China solar market to grow at 30%/year for the coming “several” years.
- DuPont’s statement also acknowledged fast worldwide growth in demand.
- R&D and manufacturing are aimed at the amorphous silicon thin film materials market used primarily for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) purposes using the windows and roofing tiles of commercial and residential buildings to generate solar energy.

- DuPont simultaneously announced a $150 million manufacturing expansion/upgrade for ethylene copolymers used in the packaging, automotive and solar cell industries.
- DuPont™ Tedlar® PVF films are preferred as the backing sheet for photovoltaic modules due to their excellent strength, weather resistance, UV resistance, and moisture barrier properties. Tedlar® PVF films are available as clear film or pigmented in a variety of colors and come in various thicknesses (1 mil, 1.5 mil and 2.0 mil).

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QUOTES
David Miller, vice president, DuPont: "DuPont is accelerating its ability to deliver innovations that will improve the lifetime and efficiency of photovoltaic modules…"