Ford Wixom Vehicle Assembly Plant Gains New Lease on Life as Renewable Energy Park

Ford Wixom Vehicle Assembly Plant Gains New Lease on Life as Renewable Energy
Park

WIXOM, Mich., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

-- Ford Motor Company's idled Wixom Assembly Plant will be redeveloped
into one of the nation's largest renewable energy manufacturing
parks

-- Ford has reached an agreement in principle to sell Wixom Assembly
Plant
to Xtreme Power of Austin, Texas, and Clairvoyant Energy of Santa
Barbara, Calif., which will manufacture energy storage systems and
high-efficiency solar panels at the site

-- Clairvoyant Energy and Xtreme Power plan an initial investment of $725
million to redevelop the 320-acre site and its 4.7 million square feet
of plant space. The renewable energy manufacturing park is expected
to
create more than 4,000 jobs on site and in the surrounding area, as
well
as support thousands of indirect jobs

-- Over the past nine months, Ford has worked with Clairvoyant Energy,
Xtreme Power and state and local officials on a redevelopment plan for
Wixom Assembly that will provide significant economic development for
Michigan, and that is consistent with Ford's commitment to
environmental sustainability

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) today joined Xtreme Power of Austin, Texas, and
Clairvoyant Energy of Santa Barbara, Calif., to announce that the idled Wixom
Assembly Plant will be transformed into one of the nation's largest renewable
energy manufacturing parks.

Clairvoyant Energy and Xtreme Power plan an initial investment of more than
$725 million to redevelop the 320-acre plant site and its 4.7 million square
feet of building space to manufacture solar power and energy storage systems,
respectively. The two companies will utilize approximately half of the square
footage to manufacture their products, and will seek additional green-energy
manufacturing and support companies to lease the remaining space. The
redevelopment work at the Wixom site is expected to begin early next year with
manufacturing at the site slated to begin in late 2011.

The redevelopment plan is expected to create more than 4,000 direct jobs,
including local suppliers, as well as support thousands of indirect jobs.

Ford has been working with the developers and state and local officials over
the past nine months on a high-impact, environmentally responsible
redevelopment plan for the 52-year-old auto plant that has produced such
iconic vehicles as the Ford Thunderbird, Ford GT and Lincoln Continental.

"The Wixom Assembly Plant served Ford well for half a century and we wanted to
ensure it served Michigan well into the future," said Ford Executive Chairman
Bill Ford. "Thanks to the collaborative efforts of two visionary energy
companies and the leadership of state and local officials, we are transforming
our Wixom facility into one of the largest renewable energy parks in the
United States. I can't imagine a better way to use this facility - for
ourselves, our children and our grandchildren."

Xtreme Power
Xtreme Power will renovate more than 1 million square feet of the Wixom site
to manufacture large-scale power systems that store renewable energy such as
solar and wind power and redeliver that power when needed. Once completed,
Xtreme Power will produce turnkey power systems, which will support up to
10,000 megawatts of wind and solar power projects around the world. Xtreme
Power systems enable high penetration rates of renewable power onto the grid
and will be a critical component of the 21st century power infrastructure.

"This move is significant on both ends of the spectrum. It underscores a
significant shift toward the accelerated commercialization and adoption of
strategic renewable energy technologies, due in large part to the deepened
commitment on the part of local, state and federal policymakers to support
companies like ours," said Carlos Coe, president and CEO of Xtreme Power. "We
commend Ford for their commitment and dedication to turn this vision into a
reality."

Clairvoyant Energy
Clairvoyant Energy will redevelop a portion of the site to build
state-of-the-art, high-efficiency solar panels. Clairvoyant Energy, which has
developed solar power park operations in California and Spain, is developing
similar solar photovoltaic systems throughout the world. Once completed,
Clairvoyant will have the capacity to produce more than 2.5 million solar
panels a year at the Wixom site, potentially replacing the need for one large
coal plant every year.

"Clairvoyant Energy is fully energized to respond to the United States' call
to create the green jobs of tomorrow - today," said David Hardee, CEO of
Clairvoyant Energy. "There is no better time than now, no better place than
Michigan and no better set of partners than Oerlikon Solar and Ford Motor
Company."

Oerlikon Solar USA, Clairvoyant's technology partner and a leader in thin-film
solar manufacturing technology, also announced today it will establish a new
regional office at the Wixom site as part of the new renewable energy park.

"As Clairvoyant's manufacturing partner, this project is an exciting
opportunity for Oerlikon Solar to apply its award-winning Micromorph(R)
technology to a new, state-of-the-art thin-film manufacturing facility in
Michigan," said Jeannine Sargent, CEO of Oerlikon Solar. "With a strong local
work force and the support of Wixom and the state, we are confident that in
partnership with Clairvoyant we can help Michigan leverage its extensive
manufacturing infrastructure for clean, renewable energy."

About Wixom Assembly
Wixom Assembly Plant was one of Ford's largest and oldest manufacturing sites,
producing 6.6 million vehicles during its 50 years of operation. Production
began in 1957 when Wixom became Lincoln Division's new national headquarters
and the sole producer of all vehicles for the Lincoln Division.

Over the years, Wixom Assembly produced the Lincoln Continental, Town Car, LS,
Mark VI, VII and VIII, as well as the Ford Thunderbird and Ford GT. At its
height, more than 5,000 workers were employed at the plant. The Wixom plant
employed approximately 1,000 workers when it closed in 2007.

The Wixom site proved ideal for redevelopment for new manufacturing facilities
with an existing, highly developed infrastructure including rail and
electrical power access and critical scalability with more than 4.7 million
square feet of space for manufacturing.

New directions
The transformation of the Ford Wixom site into an eco-responsible
manufacturing park is consistent with Ford's commitment to environmental
sustainability, as well as the state of Michigan's efforts to diversify its
economy and become a leader in the clean, renewable energy industry.

"This redevelopment project is a direct result of Ford and the developers
working collaboratively with state and local government officials to support a
vision for a greener technology future for Michigan," said Phil Horlock,
chairman and CEO of Ford Land. "We had many options for this land, but we
believe this project, which revitalizes a closed auto plant and the local
community, has the greatest potential to bring green jobs and economic
development to the region."

State and local incentives were key components to bringing the energy park
redevelopment project to Michigan, including refundable battery and
photovoltaic tax credits, Michigan Economic Growth Authority employment tax
credits, Renaissance Zone tax incentives and brownfield tax credits.

The Wixom redevelopment also includes a proposed Renewable Energy Research and
Training Center at the corner of Interstate 96 and Wixom Road. In addition to
providing access to state-of-the-art research and training facilities for the
tenants on the site, it is intended to provide universities and colleges with
opportunities for on-site applied research classes in the renewable energy
field.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn,
Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With
about 201,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's
automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo. The company
provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more
information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

About Xtreme Power
Xtreme Power is the world's technology leader in large-scale power management
and storage systems headquartered near Austin, Texas. XP provides turnkey
solutions for utility, wind, solar and commercial/industrial applications.
For more information regarding XP, please visit www.xtremepowersolutions.com.

About Clairvoyant Energy
Clairvoyant Energy is a worldwide developer of utility scale renewable energy
projects, primarily in the solar space, and migrating to a vertically
integrated dispatchable renewable energy solution provider. Clairvoyant
Energy developed and owns the largest solar roof-top power park in the world,
located in Zaragoza, Spain. Clairvoyant Energy is currently developing solar
power park projects through the U.S. and Europe. For more information
regarding Clairvoyant Energy, please visit www.clairvoyantenergy.com.

SOURCE Ford Motor Company

Jennifer Moore, +1-313-248-2335, jmoor186@ford.com, Mark Truby,
+1-313-323-0539, mtruby@ford.com, both of Ford Motor Company; Caroline Venza,
Xtreme Power, +1-415-977-1939, caroline@antennagroup.com; David Hardee,
Clairvoyant Energy, 1-805-886-5079, david@clairvoyantenergy.com