JA Solar and BP Alternative Energy to Tea Up on Solar Photovoltaics

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: JASO) and BP Alternative Energy Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of BP p.l.c. (NYSE: BP) today announced their intention to jointly develop and market part of their solar photovoltaic product portfolio over the next five years.

The definitive commercial agreement is expected to be entered into before year end. JA Solar is expected to contribute its cost-efficient manufacturing and rapid execution capabilities, plus its access to third party silicon and/or wafers, while BP is expected to bring its access to its own silicon and/or wafer supply, provide access to its global customer portfolio, and leverage its strong brand and sales and marketing capabilities in key markets.

"Our two companies are in a strong position to help lead the way in achieving grid parity more rapidly and accelerating the worldwide adoption of solar photovoltaic solutions. We share this common goal," said Samuel Yang, JA Solar's chief executive officer. "This agreement further demonstrates JA Solar's capability of providing low-cost and high quality manufacturing in the industry and is expected to give us market access through BP's well- established global brand and marketing networks. The proposed alliance is a good fit and is intended to allow us to build on each others' strengths in a mutually beneficial way," he commented.