Suntech Power Opens Office Down Under

SAN FRANCISCO and SYDNEY, April 22 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), one of the world's leading manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, today announced the opening of Suntech Australia that will be focused on sales and business development in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

''With abundant sunlight and low population density, Australia is ideally suited to distributed solar energy generation, and well-placed to take a leading role in the development and utilization of this clean and sustainable energy solution,'' said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer. ''Australia's ratification of the Kyoto protocol and increasing State support for solar projects reflects the broader community's growing interest in renewable energy and environmental sustainability. Suntech is committed to supporting this trend through
investment in Australia's solar industry, and the provision of premium quality solar products.''

Dr. Shi added, ''With our new base in Sydney and continued collaborative efforts with local and regional partners, we will strive to promote the long-term development of the solar industry in Australia, New Zealand and neighbouring Pacific Islands.''

Dr. Zhengrong Shi, an alumnus of the University of NSW, and Suntech have maintained strong connections with the Australian solar industry. Suntech and the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Silicon Photovoltaics and
Photonics of the University of New South Wales Australia have enjoyed long term collaboration on the research and development of cutting-edge solar technologies that target to increase PV cell conversion efficiency and decrease solar energy cost per watt. As part of the collaboration, Suntech has provided funding for solar research projects and the two organizations have mutually shared benefits produced from such efforts. In addition, Suntech also provides funding for a number of UNSW undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships for training in the area of photovoltaic engineering.

''Coming from a scientific research background, I take great pleasure in providing opportunities for up and coming scientists in this dynamic industry,'' commented Dr. Shi. ''Suntech's relationship with the University of NSW brings a commercial focus to research projects and supports the education and development of some of the world's best talent in solar R&D. At the same time, many of the technologies developed through the collaboration can be applied in mass production and facilitate lower cost per watt production of solar energy.''

One technology coming from the research collaboration, named the Pluto technology, is already achieving 18% to 19% conversion efficiency on mono-crystalline PV cells in pilot production - well above the industry average of 16%. Suntech plans to transfer Pluto technology to commercial production in 2008.