Gov. Brewer, Mayor Gordon Celebrate Power-One's Grand Opening

PHOENIX, Jan. 31, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Power-One, Inc. (Nasdaq:PWER), the world's second-largest manufacturer of power inverters for the renewable energy industry, opened its first North American manufacturing facility in Phoenix that will eventually employ 350 people. Power-One's Phoenix facility will produce its industry-leading photovoltaic (PV) and wind inverters that convert renewable energy into a usable form of electricity for distribution on the utility grid.

The facility will reach a capacity of 1 gigawatt of product by the end of the year with available site capacity reaching 4 gigawatts, which would generate enough electricity to power up to two million homes. The inverters manufactured at this facility will be installed in residential, commercial and utility settings.

Governor Jan Brewer, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Arizona Commerce Authority President and CEO Don Cardon, Power-One President and CEO Richard Thompson, Greater Phoenix Economic Council President and CEO Barry Broome and other dignitaries signed the front panel of the first central inverter, a 100 kilowatt unit, assembled at the Phoenix facility.

"Power-One is excited to open its manufacturing and research and development center in Arizona, as we bring more jobs to the United States and establish our North American renewable energy footprint," Thompson said. "We view the opportunity to open new markets in the U.S. and abroad, as well as to introduce new technologies, as key drivers to our future success."

Power-One has shown significant growth in terms of revenue and market share in 2010, leaping to the number two global position for PV inverter sales in 2010. According to IMS Research, the global PV inverter market is expected to grow at compound annual rates of nearly 25 percent. IMS also adds that seven million inverters are expected to be sold in 2014 compared to less than one million in 2009.