Spire Receives $6 Million from Utility for Solar Power

BEDFORD, Mass., Aug. 23 -- Spire Corp. has entered into an agreement to provide $6 million worth of solar electric (photovoltaic) systems to Commonwealth Edison Co. of Chicago over the next 30 months. ComEd has agreed to give Spire right of first refusal through 2004 to supply systems beyond this initial commitment. This agreement is in addition to a commitment from the city of Chicago to purchase $2 million in systems from a Spire-formed, Chicago-based business.
The systems supplied under the Spire-ComEd agreement will be manufactured at a new Chicago manufacturing plant to be called Spire Solar Chicago. The formation of this business comes as the result of a collaborative effort between Spire, ComEd, the city of Chicago, and the US Department of Energy.