Solar Millennium AG: Signing fee paid to Utz Claassen expected to impact the earnings forecast

Erlangen, 27 May 2010  The negotiations between the Supervisory Board of Solar Millennium AG (ISIN DE0007218406) and the former CEO Prof. Utz Claassen concerning the repayment of the signing fee he received upon his appointment have failed for the time being. Claassen had resigned after 74 days in office. Solar Millennium's Supervisory Board now assumes that it will have to take legal action in order to claim repayment from Claassen. This situation leads to an earnings risk in the high single-digit Euro millions for the current fiscal year.

Notwithstanding this issue, the Management Board adheres to its operating targets and the sales guidance for the current fiscal year. Pursuant to stock corporation law, the Supervisory Board is responsible for and in charge of pursuing the legal dispute and all communication regarding Utz Claassen.

About Solar Millennium AG:
Solar Millennium AG, Erlangen, is an international company in the renewable energy sector, with its main focus on solar-thermal power plants. Together with its subsidiaries and associates, the Company specializes in parabolic trough power plants and has managed to take a globally leading position in this field. Solar Millennium strives to further extend its expertise in the area of solar-thermal power plants with the aim of achieving and securing sustainable technology leadership. As such, the Company covers all important business sectors along the value chain for solar-thermal power plants: from project development and financing to the technology and the turnkey construction and operation of power plants. In Spain, Solar Millennium developed Europe's first parabolic trough power plants and realized these together with partners. Additional projects are planned around the world with an overall capacity of more than 2,000 megawatts: here the current regional focus is on Spain, the US, India, China, the Middle East and North Africa.

About solar-thermal power plant technology:
Solar-thermal power plants generate electricity by converting solar radiation into heat energy. In a parabolic trough power plant, trough-shaped mirrors concentrate the incidental radiation onto a pipe in the focal line of the collector. Its absorption heats a fluid heat medium in the pipe, generating steam in the power block through a heat exchanger. As in conventional power plants, the steam powers a turbine to generate electricity. By integrating thermal storage, electricity can be supplied on demand, even after sunset.