PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers and SolarWorld, the largest solar manufacturer in America, today announced a new landmark partnership, making SolarWorld the team’s official jersey sponsor for the 2010 season and the first renewable-energy company to become a jersey partner of a professional soccer franchise in the United States.

SolarWorld, which is connected to the game of soccer on three continents, is one of the largest and most experienced manufacturers of solar technology in the world. It has three plants on the West Coast, including a vertically integrated 500 megawatt manufacturing plant located in Hillsboro, Ore.

“I am delighted to partner with SolarWorld on the 2010 Timbers jersey rights,” said Timbers president Merritt Paulson. “We pride ourselves on being a green organization – not just our colors – and partnering with a preeminent sustainable company like SolarWorld is a no-brainer.”

"Soccer is the most international sport," said Boris Klebensberger, U.S. president and COO of SolarWorld. "As a renewable-energy company involved in every major solar market, it's only fitting for us to help support the sport in and around our various sites, including near our U.S. headquarters in Hillsboro."

Along with its partnership with the Timbers, SolarWorld’s involvement in the sport includes a marketing agreement with forward Lucas Podolski of German Bundesliga club FC Cologne, and helping to bring electricity to a community studio in Africa to offer televised broadcasts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup through its Solar2World program, which aids electrification projects in developing countries.

Additionally, SolarWorld is a premier partner and jersey sponsor of the Timbers development team, the Timbers U-23s, which competes in the Premier Development League.

The Timbers kick off the 2010 campaign Saturday, April 17, at 7 p.m. as they play host to the Rochester Rhinos at PGE Park. The PDL season for the Timbers U-23s begins May 15 at PGE Park. Additional information about SolarWorld is available at www.solarworld-usa.com.

ABOUT SOLARWORLD
The SolarWorld AG Group (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a worldwide leader in offering brand-name, high-quality, crystalline solar-power technology. Its strength is its fully integrated solar production. From silicon as the raw material through wafers, cells and modules all the way to turn-key solar systems, including recycling, the group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is selling quality modules into the installation and distribution trades and crystalline wafers to the international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. Production sites are located in Germany, the United States and South Korea. The group’s largest production facilities operate in Freiberg, Germany, and Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Sustainability is the basis of the group strategy. Under the name Solar2World, the group supports care projects using off-grid solar power solutions in emerging economies and developing countries, exemplifying sustainable economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs more than 2,700 people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted since 1999 on the stock exchange and today is listed on, among others, the TecDax, ÖkoDAX, Dow Jones STOXX 600, the international MSCI Index as well as in the sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.