Hoku Scientific Tapped For Xcel Solar Project

HALEIWA, HI--(Marketwire - October 1, 2008) - The Xcel Building, owned by Ed D'Ascoli, founder and president of Xcel International, Inc. (Xcel), has selected Hoku Solar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hoku Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOKU) that designs, engineers and installs turnkey photovoltaic (PV) power systems, to install a PV power system on the Xcel Building.

Located in the historic town of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu (Hawaii), the Xcel Building is Xcel's headquarters and manufacturing facility. Hoku Solar plans to install a 34-kilowatt PV system, expected to generate more than 53,500 kilowatt hours of clean, renewable solar electricity each year and will contribute directly to Xcel's ongoing corporate sustainability initiative.

Once installed, Xcel's PV system is expected to produce enough electricity over its lifetime to power the equivalent of 151 homes for one year, and offset more than 885 tons of carbon dioxide emissions -- the equivalent of removing more than 57 cars from Hawaii's roadways.

"Hoku is pleased to partner with Ed D'Ascoli and the Xcel Building on this exciting project," said Dustin Shindo, chief executive officer of Hoku Scientific. "Commercial scale PV systems make proven business sense in Hawaii, and we are proud to have been selected to help integrate clean, sustainable power into Xcel's operations."

"Xcel is focused on finding meaningful ways to reduce our environmental footprint that make good business sense," said Ed D'Ascoli, founder and president of Xcel. "Our company was built on a passion for the ocean, so we are mission-compelled to do everything we can -- as a company and as individuals -- to implement sustainable strategies into our core business. And, like Xcel, Hoku is a global company with deep local roots committed to our community and environment. We saw a natural fit between our companies."