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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

     
CHECKBOX   ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
   

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2001

OR

     
BOX   TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
    1934

For the transition period from      to     .

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 000-31687

EVERGREEN SOLAR, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
     
DELAWARE   04-3242254
(State or other jurisdiction of   (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)   Identification No.)
259 CEDAR HILL STREET   01752
MARLBORO, MASSACHUSETTS   (Zip Code)
(Address of principal executive offices)    

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 508-357-2221

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: NONE

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $.01 PER SHARE

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days Yes    CHECKBOX No    BOX

         Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. BOX

         As of March 11, 2002, there were 11,397,947 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock, $.01 par value per share, outstanding. The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting stock held by non-affiliates as of March 11, 2002 was approximately $30 million.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

         The registrant intends to file a definitive proxy statement pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001. Portions of such proxy statement are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 


 

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS:

OVERVIEW

         We develop, manufacture and market solar power products that are capable of providing reliable and environmentally clean electric power throughout the world. Our solar power products are targeted at the global solar power market. We believe our proprietary and patented solar power technologies, including our String Ribbon® technology, will offer significant design, cost and manufacturing advantages over competing solar power technologies. We intend to become a leading producer of high-quality solar power products by expanding our manufacturing capacity, reducing our manufacturing costs, developing innovative solar power products, increasing our distribution capabilities and pursuing strategic relationships.

         Since our formation in 1994, we have conducted research and development of advanced process and product technologies and, between 1997 and June 2001, we used pilot manufacturing facilities to refine our solar power products and manufacturing processes. Also in 1997, we began shipping small quantities of commercial products. In 2001, we expanded our manufacturing capacity by relocating our operations to a 56,250 square foot facility in Marlboro, Massachusetts. We are continuing to refine, develop and commercialize a number of laboratory-demonstrated advancements in our solar power technologies, including advanced String Ribbon crystal growth, more efficient solar cells and improved solar panel designs. Through December 31, 2001, we shipped over 10,000 solar panels for residential, commercial and industrial applications in the United States and internationally. As we continue to increase production volumes, we intend to actively expand existing and seek new distribution and marketing arrangements.

HISTORICAL MILESTONES

         We were incorporated in August 1994 and to date we have achieved the following major milestones along our product development and commercialization schedule:

             
Date           Historical Milestone
October     1994     Evergreen Solar founded with four employees in a 2,500 square foot laboratory.
October     1995     First String Ribbon wafers produced.
April     1997     9,400 square foot pilot manufacturing facility operational.
October     1997     First commercial sale of solar panels produced using String Ribbon technology.
June     1999     Total sales of solar panels of 2,500 units and 100 kilowatts achieved.
December     1999     Kawasaki investment of $5 million and execution of a strategic distribution and marketing agreement.
March     2000     Leased 56,250 square foot manufacturing and headquarters facility located in Marlboro, Massachusetts.
August     2000     Renovation of our Marlboro manufacturing facility and headquarters begun.
June     2001     First shipment of solar panels from our new Marlboro manufacturing facility.
November     2001     Three new distribution relationships in the U.S., United Kingdom, and Germany.
December     2001     Shipment of our 10,000th solar panel.

INDUSTRY BACKGROUND

         The electric power industry is one of the world’s largest industries. Furthermore, electricity accounts for a growing share of overall energy use. A principal driver of this growth is increasing reliance on electricity-dependent advanced technologies, such as in the Internet and telecommunications industries. We believe that deregulation and technological innovations are creating significant opportunities for new entrants and technologies within the electric power industry, just as these changes have created similar opportunities in other regulated industries such as telecommunications, banking and transportation.

         We believe that distributed generation is one of the most promising areas for growth in the global electric power industry. Distributed generation is defined as point-of-use electricity generation that either supplements or bypasses the

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electric utility grid, and employs technologies such as solar power, microturbines and fuel cells. Distributed generation is expected to provide greater portability, reliability, power, quality and user control. We believe capacity constraints, increased demand for power reliability and quality, and new environmental initiatives will drive the demand for distributed generation.

SOLAR POWER APPLICATIONS AND BENEFITS

         Unlike many other distributed generation technologies that have been under development but not in widespread commercial use, solar power technology has had a growing worldwide market for over 20 years in the following applications:

    On-grid. On-grid applications provide supplemental electricity to customers that are served by an electric utility grid but choose to generate a portion of their electricity needs on-site. On-grid applications have been the fastest growing part of the solar power market, largely driven by the worldwide trend toward deregulation and privatization of the electric power industry as well as by government initiatives, including incentive programs to subsidize and promote solar power systems in several countries including Japan, Germany and the United States. On-grid applications include residential and commercial rooftops and building facades and are available for both new construction and existing structures.
 
    Off-grid. Off-grid applications serve markets where access to conventional electric power is not economical or physically feasible. Solar power products can provide a low cost, reliable alternative for powering highway call boxes, microwave stations, portable highway road signs, remote street or billboard lights, vacation homes, rural homes in developed and developing countries, water pumps and battery chargers for sailboats and recreational vehicles.

         Solar power has emerged as one of the primary distributed generation technologies seeking to capitalize on the opportunities resulting from trends affecting the electric power industry. Relative to other distributed generation technologies, solar power benefits include:

    Modular and scaleable. From tiny solar cells powering a hand-held calculator to an array of roof panels powering an entire home to acres of panels on a commercial building roof or field, solar power products can be deployed in many sizes and configurations and can be installed almost anywhere in the world.
 
    Reliable. With no moving parts and no fuel supply required, solar power systems reliably power some of the world’s most sensitive applications, from space satellites to microwave stations in the mountains and other remote, harsh environments. Solar panels typically carry warranties of 20 years or more.
 
    Dual use. Solar panels are expected to increasingly serve as both a power generator and the skin of the building. Like architectural glass, solar panels can be installed on the roofs or facades of residential and commercial buildings.
 
    Environmentally cleaner. Solar power systems produce no air or water emissions.

THE SOLAR POWER CHALLENGE

         Although solar power can provide a low cost alternative for off-grid applications, we believe the principal challenge to widespread adoption of solar power is reducing manufacturing costs without impairing product performance or reliability. We believe the following advancements in solar power technology are necessary to meet this challenge:

    Efficient material use. Reduce raw materials waste, particularly the waste associated with slicing silicon by conventional crystalline silicon technology.
 
    Simplified and continuous processing. Reduce reliance on expensive, multi-step manufacturing processes.
 
    Improved product design and performance. Increase product conversion efficiency, longevity and ease of use. Conversion efficiency refers to the fraction of the sun’s energy converted to electricity.

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         We further believe the two principal solar power technologies, crystalline silicon and thin films, have not adequately addressed this challenge:

         Crystalline Silicon. Crystalline silicon technology was the earliest practiced solar power technology and remains the foundation for most solar power applications. Conventional crystalline silicon technology involves slicing thin wafers from solid crystalline silicon blocks. Crystalline silicon products are known for their reliability, performance and longevity; however, factors such as high materials waste from slicing, and complicated processing procedures have limited the ability of conventional crystalline silicon manufacturers to reduce manufacturing costs.

         Thin Films. While most major solar power manufacturers currently rely on crystalline silicon technology for the majority of their solar cell production, many are also developing alternative thin film technologies to achieve lower manufacturing costs. Thin film technology involves depositing several thin layers of silicon or more complex materials on a substrate to make a solar cell. Although thin film techniques generally use material more efficiently than conventional crystalline silicon, we believe higher capital costs, lower manufacturing yields, lower conversion efficiency, reduced product performance and reliability, and, in some cases, concerns with toxic materials have resulted in, and will continue to result in, limited commercial acceptance.

OUR TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION

         We believe our technologies and processes are unique among our competitors and have been designed to reduce manufacturing costs while improving product design. Our innovative technologies include:

         String Ribbon Wafer Manufacturing. In the String Ribbon technique, strings are pulled vertically through a shallow pool of molten silicon, and the silicon solidifies between the strings to form a continuous ribbon of crystalline silicon. Once the ribbon has reached the desired length, it is cut and prepared for cell fabrication. The use of strings to aid in the growth of a silicon ribbon is what distinguishes our proprietary and patented String Ribbon technology from other advanced crystalline silicon wafer technologies that do not involve slicing. Our String Ribbon technology for the growth of solar wafers has the following significant advantages:

    Efficient materials use. Unlike conventional crystalline silicon wafer technology, in which solid blocks of silicon are sliced into thin wafers at significant expense and silicon waste, our technology grows a continuous, flat ribbon to the desired thickness. Since our technology does not involve slicing solid blocks, we can use about half as much silicon as conventional crystalline silicon techniques and we believe we can reduce this amount to about one-fifth in the future.
 
    Continuous processing. Our technology permits the continuous growth of crystalline silicon ribbon, which can lead to high automation, efficient equipment use and improved productivity.

         Innovative Solar Cell Fabrication. We believe our innovative solar cell fabrication techniques will enable us to reduce our manufacturing costs, improve product appearance and increase design flexibility. Our solar cell fabrication techniques include:

    “Wrap-around” solar cells. We have patented and are currently developing a process for manufacturing “wrap-around” solar cells in which the front metal conductors literally “wrap-around” to the back of the solar cell. As a result, instead of the conventional practice of electrically wiring the front of the solar cell to the back of the adjacent cell, our wrap-around solar cell can allow all of the electrical wiring to be accomplished on the back of the solar cell. We believe our wrap-around solar cell will enable us to reduce manufacturing costs, increase manufacturing output and produce more attractive solar panels in a wider range of sizes.
 
    Simplified processing. We have developed an innovative approach of using fewer, simpler steps combined with simplified and continuous processing in much of our solar cell fabrication line. We believe this approach will lower manufacturing costs relative to conventional crystalline silicon processing that involves clean rooms and requires processing wafers in batches.

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         Advanced Solar Panel Designs. We are currently developing innovative solar panels using improved designs and production processes. We believe our new technology will ultimately reduce costs, both in the factory and during shipping and installation, and improve solar panel appearance, performance, ease of use and longevity. In particular, we are developing what we believe is a simplified and less expensive method for interconnecting solar cells, which we call monolithic integration, as well as better lamination materials and methods.

    Monolithic integration. Monolithic solar panel integration is a simplified and less expensive method of electrically wiring solar cells using our “wrap-around” technology. This method allows solar cells to be electrically wired in a nearly continuous process without front-to-back electrical wiring. This is a novel approach in crystalline silicon manufacturing, where expensive front-to-back electrical wiring is standard practice.
 
    Improved lamination materials and methods. We expect our lamination improvements to include the following:
 
    Replacement of the two-inch-thick, expensive, aluminum-framed solar panels with quarter-inch-thick, polymer-based frameless solar panels that we expect will permit as much as ten-times greater packing density during shipping and use of less-expensive mounting approaches.
 
    Replacement of the junction box, which is the conventional box on the back of a solar panel through which electrical wiring connections are made, with a thin wire on the edge of one panel to simplify field wiring.
 
    Creation of an improved encapsulant, used to seal the solar panel, which we expect will extend solar panel life.
 
    Replacement of the conventional lamination process, which requires processing in batches in a vacuum, with a continuous process which permits lamination in air.

OUR PRODUCTS

         Solar power products in general are built-up through four stages of production:

    Wafers. A crystalline silicon wafer is a flat piece of crystalline silicon, approximately palm-sized, that can be processed into a solar cell.
 
    Cells. A solar cell is a device made from a wafer that converts sunlight into electricity by means of a process known as the photovoltaic effect. A typical solar cell produces from one to three watts of power and is approximately palm-sized.
 
    Panels. A solar panel is an assembly of solar cells that have been electrically interconnected and laminated in a physically durable and weather-tight package. A typical solar panel can produce from 20 to 150 watts of power and range in size from two to 15 square feet. A 100-watt solar panel can power a standard 100-watt light bulb, or approximately 3% of the power requirements of a typical home in the United States. Our current solar panels range from 47 to 110 watts in power.
 
    Systems. A solar system is an assembly of one or more solar panels that have been physically mounted and electrically interconnected, often with batteries and/or power electronics, to produce electricity.

         We sell primarily solar panels. We expect our solar panel technology to provide us with a number of competitive advantages and, ultimately, lower manufacturing costs. We believe that the frameless solar panel we are developing will provide a distinctive advantage in on-grid, building-integrated solar systems and off-grid rural electrification solar systems, as well as for other applications where international shipping, remote installation and/or thin solar panels are required. We expect our frameless solar panel will be thinner, lighter, easier to ship, easier to install, and more attractive than those of our competitors. We are developing solar roofing tiles and other building-integrated solar power products that we believe will accelerate the acceptance and penetration of solar power products in the building industry.

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         We further believe that our solar panels will be enhanced by our wrap-around solar cells. We expect our wrap-around cells, currently under development, to provide simplified interconnection procedures allowing greater range in solar panel design and a distinctive, attractive appearance for on-grid solar systems.

         Our current solar panels range from 47 to 110 watts. Our solar panels are certified to international standards for safety and quality. If our development programs are successful, we expect to continue to increase the conversion efficiency and wattage of our solar panels as we expand our manufacturing capacity.

SALES AND MARKETING

         Market Focus

         We intend to primarily target the on-grid markets and the off-grid rural electrification market, where we believe growth prospects are the largest and where we expect our solar power technology will provide us the greatest competitive advantage. These markets are characterized as follows:

    On-grid. The on-grid market is currently the fastest growing solar power market. Within the on-grid market, Japan has been the largest market for several years, but the German market is growing rapidly with the passage of an additional government subsidy program. We also expect on-grid markets to grow in the Netherlands, Spain and the United States.
 
    Off-grid rural electrification. Within the off-grid market, we believe that rural electrification has the largest potential but is the least penetrated market as evidenced by the two billion people in the world without conventional electricity. Marketing, financing, local infrastructure and support remain the principal challenges to greater expansion of this market.

Competitive Advantage

         We expect to gain a competitive advantage in our target markets through product differentiation, strong marketing, distribution and manufacturing partners in local markets, and ultimately low manufacturing costs.

         In the on-grid market, our distinctive solar power products are expected to include building-integrated roofing products, both framed and frameless.

         We expect our building-integrated solar power products will include solar panels with wrap-around solar cells that will offer a distinctive, attractive appearance, which we believe is particularly important to architects and homebuilders.

         In the off-grid rural electrification market, we expect our frameless panels to have a competitive advantage because we believe that they will be:

    easier and less expensive to ship due to their thinness and improved packing density;
 
    lighter and easier to physically mount and electrically wire; and
 
    able to be mounted using local mounting materials.

Distribution, Marketing and Other Strategic Relationships

         We bring our solar power products to market using distributors, system integrators and other value-added resellers. Our resellers often add value through system design by incorporating our panels with batteries, associated electronics, structures and wiring systems. Most of our resellers have a geographic or applications focus.

         We expect to collaborate closely with a relatively small number of resellers. We entered into our first of these collaborations with Kawasaki in December 1999. In 2001 we entered into distribution agreements with Hutton Communications, Inc., a leading marketer and distributor of wireless telecommunications and power products in North

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America, Krannich Solartechnik, a marketer and distributor of photovoltaic modules and systems in Germany, and Solar Century Holdings Ltd., a maker and distributor of photovoltaic products in the United Kingdom.

         We intend to selectively pursue additional strategic relationships with other companies worldwide for the joint marketing, distribution and manufacturing of our products. These resellers are expected to range from large, multinational corporations to small, development-stage companies, each chosen for their particular expertise. We believe that these relationships will enable us to leverage the marketing, manufacturing and distribution capabilities of other companies, explore opportunities for additional product development, and more easily and cost-effectively enter new geographic markets, attract new customers and develop advanced solar power applications.

         We currently work with a relatively small number of reseller partners who have particular expertise in a selected geographic or applications market segment. As a result, we have focused on smaller resellers whose needs have not vastly exceeded our production levels. Sales to our ten largest resellers have accounted for approximately 96% of our total product revenues since inception. No one reseller has accounted for more than 30% of total revenues over that period. As we continue to expand manufacturing capacity and sales volumes, we anticipate developing relationships with additional resellers. Through December 31, 2001, approximately 59% of our sales were made to resellers in the United States. In fiscal year 2001, revenues from Schott Applied Power and Kawasaki Heavy Industries accounted for approximately 33% and 14% of total revenues, respectively.

         In addition, we market our products through trade shows, on-going customer communications, promotional material, direct mail and advertising. Our staff provides limited customer service and applications engineering support to customers while also gathering information on current product performance and future product requirements. A small internal sales force currently handles all solar power product sales.

MANUFACTURING

         Our principal manufacturing objective is to provide for large-scale manufacturing of our solar power products at low costs that will enable us to penetrate price-sensitive solar power markets. In March 2000, we signed a lease agreement for a 56,250 square foot facility in Marlboro, Massachusetts, which includes approximately 35,000 square feet of manufacturing space. This facility includes a complete line of equipment to manufacture String Ribbon wafers, fabricate and test solar cells, and laminate and test panels and has been designed to support approximately seven megawatts of capacity when both manufacturing lines are fully installed. The first of the facility’s two manufacturing lines became operational in 2001. We have begun engineering and have authorized capital expenditures for longer lead-time equipment for the second manufacturing line, which we expect to become operational during 2003.

         In addition to our current investment in our Marlboro, Massachusetts facility, we intend to selectively pursue opportunities to establish local manufacturing arrangements on a worldwide basis. Because the market opportunity for solar power encompasses numerous applications in both developed and developing nations worldwide, we expect a significant portion of our sales will be made outside of the United States. Despite these opportunities, manufacturing of solar power products has remained largely concentrated in the United States, Europe and Japan due to factors such as reduced economies of scale and technical process complexities of establishing local manufacturing facilities.

         In spite of these barriers, we believe there are several advantages to local manufacturing, including enhanced brand recognition in local markets, avoidance of import tariffs and access to local private or public sector financing. We believe that our String Ribbon technology and our innovative manufacturing techniques offer greater than other competing technologies, which we believe will enable us to establish fully integrated factories at a smaller scale that can better grow in concert with market demands. Consequently, we expect to pursue local manufacturing of our products in selected target markets. We also expect that our technologies will allow us to efficiently scale our production to take advantage of market opportunities as they arise.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

         Because we believe continuously improving our technology is an important part of our overall strategy, we have maintained and intend to maintain a strong research and development effort. To this end, our Marlboro, Massachusetts facility has approximately 6,000 square feet dedicated to research and development and contains equipment to support the development, fabrication and evaluation of new solar power products and technologies.

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         We have and will continue to selectively pursue contract research programs funded by various United States and other governmental agencies to help support the development of new proprietary technologies. As of December 31, 2001, we have one research contract that expires on October 31, 2003. The estimated research revenues from this contract from January 1, 2002 through its expiration in 2003, is approximately $1.4 million.

         This and other research contracts we have obtained generally provide for development of advanced materials and methods for wafer, cell and panel manufacturing, product development and market development. In all cases to date, we retain all rights to any intellectual property and technological developments resulting from the government funding, with the exception of government “march-in” rights to practice the technology on its own behalf if we do not commercialize the technology and certain rights universities retain for work they perform under subcontract to us. These contracts usually require the submission of technical progress reports, most of which can become publicly available. These contracts are generally cost shared between the funding agency and us with our share of the total contract cost historically ranging from approximately 30% to 70%. The contracts normally expire between six months and three years from their initiation. We had research revenues of $2.1 million in 1999, $1.8 million in 2000, and $932,000 in 2001 from several government-sponsored research contracts. We recorded research and development expenditures, including the cost of research revenue, of $3.1 million in 1999, $3.3 million in 2000 and $2.9 million in 2001. For each of the years ended December 31, 1999 and 2000, revenues received from each of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory accounted for over 10% of our total revenues. For the year ended December 31, 2001 revenues received from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory accounted for 24% and 15%, respectively, of our total revenues.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

         Patents

         We believe that our commercial success will significantly depend on our ability to protect our intellectual property rights underlying our proprietary technologies. We seek United States and international patent protection for major components of our technology platform, including our crystalline silicon wafers, solar cells and solar panels. We own or have licensed 18 issued United States patents and one issued Israeli patent in the solar power field, which expire beginning in 2003 and ending in 2019. In addition, we have 3 United States patent applications pending. We decide whether and in what foreign countries to file counterparts of our United States patent applications. We devote substantial resources to building a strong patent position, and we intend to continue to file additional United States and foreign patent applications to seek protection for technology we deem important to our commercial success.

         Crystalline Silicon Wafers. Dr. Emanuel Sachs, a tenured Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, developed our core String Ribbon technology. Dr. Sachs has been awarded three issued United States patents for the String Ribbon technology. An additional issued patent for a related technology, invented by two employees of the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory, formerly the Solar Energy Research Institute, was assigned to Dr. Sachs in 1984.

         In September 1994, Dr. Sachs granted us an irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-bearing license to practice the String Ribbon technology and related patents under a license and consulting agreement. The patents underlying this agreement begin to expire in 2003. This agreement permits us to sublicense any of our license and other rights under the agreement. The license is exclusive worldwide, subject only to nonexclusive, nontransferable rights held by the United States Department of Energy to practice the String Ribbon technology on its own behalf. Our rights to the String Ribbon technology depend upon the survival of our license from Dr. Sachs. Although our license is by its terms irrevocable and terminates only upon expiration of the underlying patents, it is possible that Dr. Sachs could seek to terminate the license if we materially breach or default on our obligations to Dr. Sachs under the license, in particular our obligation to pay royalties to Dr. Sachs. The termination of our license from Dr. Sachs to the String Ribbon technology and our loss of the right to practice under the String Ribbon patents would substantially impair our business and prospects.

         We have been awarded 3 issued United States patents and have filed 2 patent applications on our own, internally-developed inventions related to String Ribbon and wafer fabrication, which are method inventions relating to automated, high-yield production techniques.

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         Solar Cell Fabrication. We have been awarded 4 issued United States patents and have filed 2 additional United States patent applications relating to our solar cell processing technology. The issued United States patents relate to the method for forming wrap-around contacts on solar cells and a method for processing solar cells. The pending patent applications relate to methods for processing solar cells.

         Solar Panels. We have been awarded 7 issued United States patents and have filed 1 additional United States patent application relating to advanced solar panel designs. The 7 issued United States patents relate to solar cell modules with an improved backskin, solar cell modules with an interface mounting system, an encapsulant material for solar cell modules and a solar cell roof tile system. The pending patent application relates to new materials for encasing the panel, which we believe will lower cost, extend panel life and enhance panel performance.

         Patent positions of companies like ours are generally uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. Furthermore, even if patents are licensed or issued to us, others may design around the patented technologies. In addition, we could incur substantial costs in litigation if we are required to initiate patent litigation to enforce our patent rights, and the outcome of any patent litigation is uncertain. The following may impair our patent positions:

    our pending patent applications may not result in issued patents;
 
    the claims of patents which are issued may not provide meaningful protection;
 
    we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable;
 
    patents licensed or issued to us may not provide a basis for commercially viable products or may not provide us with competitive advantages and may be challenged by third parties; or
 
    patents of others may have an adverse effect on our ability to do business.

         Although we do not believe that our technologies infringe the rights of third parties, third parties could in the future assert infringement claims against us, which may result in costly litigation or require us to obtain a license to third-party intellectual property rights. We may be unable to obtain required licenses or obtain these licenses on terms that are acceptable to us, either of which would substantially impair our business.

         Trade Secrets and Other Rights

         With respect to proprietary know-how that is not patentable and for processes for which patents are difficult to enforce, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect our interests. We believe that several elements of our solar power products and manufacturing processes involve proprietary know-how, technology or data, which are not covered by patents or patent applications. We have taken security measures to protect proprietary know-how and technologies and confidential data, and continue to explore further methods of protection. While we require all employees, key consultants and other third parties to enter into confidentiality agreements with us, we cannot be assured that proprietary information will not be disclosed inappropriately, that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques or otherwise gain access to our trade secrets, or that we can meaningfully protect our trade secrets. Any material leak of confidential information into the public domain or to third parties could result in the loss of a competitive advantage in the solar power market.

COMPETITION

         The market for solar power products is intensely competitive. There are over 20 companies in the world that produce solar power products, including BP Solar, Kyocera Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell (currently acquiring the solar business of Siemens Solar Group), Sharp Corporation, AstroPower, Inc. and Photowatt International S.A. All six of these solar power product producers, as well as several others, derive all or a majority of their sales from conventional manufacturing technology that involves using wafers made from slicing solid blocks of crystalline silicon. In addition, many of these companies are developing advanced crystalline silicon or thin film technologies, including technologies such as advanced crystalline sheet and ribbon technologies and thin films of amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride and copper indium diselenide, and project future cost savings similar to or greater than ours. We believe several of our

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competitors are developing and are currently producing products based on crystalline silicon wafer technologies that, like String Ribbon, do not involve slicing silicon blocks.

         We believe our current solar power products have features similar to other crystalline silicon products, including those made using other crystalline silicon ribbon technologies. However, because our solar power products are made from crystalline silicon, we believe they may be more reliable than those made from thin film technologies which often use materials, such as amorphous silicon, which we believe may be less stable. In addition, we believe the polymer-framed solar panels we are developing will be thinner, lighter and easier to install than our competitors’ panels, including those produced using other crystalline silicon ribbon technologies. However, because these panels will require different mounting techniques than our customers typically use, our customers will need to adopt these new mounting techniques and therefore may be reluctant to use our polymer-framed panels.

         Solar power has certain advantages and disadvantages when compared to other alternative energy sources. The advantages include the ability to deploy products in many sizes and configurations, to install products almost anywhere in the world, to provide reliable power for many applications, to serve as both a power generator and the skin of a building and to eliminate air, water and noise emissions. However, unlike most alternative energy generators, which can produce power on demand, solar power cannot generate power when sunlight is not available. In addition, based on current technology, the upfront cost, including installation, of alternative energy generators is often lower than that of solar power products. However, we believe that the relative cost of power produced over the lifetime of solar products as compared with alternative energy generators often depends on the application. For example, solar power products may be more cost-effective over the long-term for remote applications that are not connected to the utility grid and that have smaller power requirements, while alternative power sources may be more cost effective for larger, grid-connected applications.

         Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial resources, research and development staff, manufacturing facilities, sales and marketing experience, distribution channels and human resources than we do. In order to compete effectively against these companies, we will need to demonstrate to potential customers and partners that our solar power products perform better, or are less expensive than those of our competitors.

         In addition, we believe that the market for solar power specifically, and electric power in general, will be subject to rapid technological development. This rapid development may result in some of our solar power products becoming obsolete before we can recover development expenses. We also expect that future competition will come not only from existing competitors, but also from new entrants to the market with new technological solutions. We may be unable to compete successfully against present and future competitors and our failure to successfully compete could significantly reduce our market share, our revenues and our prospects for profitability.

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS

         We use, generate and discharge toxic, volatile or otherwise hazardous chemicals and wastes in our research and development and manufacturing activities. We are subject to a variety of federal, state and local governmental regulations related to the storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials. If we fail to comply with present or future environmental regulations, we could be subject to fines, suspension of production or a cessation of operations.

         We believe that we have all environmental permits necessary to conduct our business. We believe that we have properly handled our hazardous materials and wastes and have not contributed to any contamination at any of our past or current premises. We are not aware of any environmental investigation, proceeding or action by federal or state agencies involving our past or current facilities. Any failure by us to control the use of, or to restrict adequately the discharge of, hazardous substances could subject us to substantial financial liabilities, operational interruptions and adverse publicity, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, under some federal and state statutes and regulations, a governmental agency may seek recovery and response costs from operators of property where releases of hazardous substances have occurred or are ongoing, even if the operator was not responsible for the release or otherwise was not at fault.

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EMPLOYEES

         As of December 31, 2001, we had 145 full-time employees, including 14 engaged in research and development and 98 engaged in manufacturing. 19 of our employees have advanced degrees, including 4 Ph.D.s. None of our employees are represented by any labor union nor are they organized under a collective bargaining agreement. We have never experienced a work stoppage and believe that our relations with our employees are good.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES:

         Our headquarters is currently located in a leased space in Marlboro, Massachusetts, where we currently occupy approximately 56,250 square feet of administrative, laboratory and manufacturing space. Our lease expires on June 30, 2010.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS:

We are not a party to any material legal proceedings.

ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS:

No matters were submitted to a vote of security holders during the quarter ended December 31, 2001.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE COMPANY’S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS:

Market for Our Common Stock

Our common stock is traded on The Nasdaq National Market under the symbol “ESLR”. The following table sets forth for the calendar periods indicated, the high and low sales price of our common stock on The Nasdaq National Market.

                   
      High   Low
     
 
2000:
               
 
Fourth Quarter (commencing November 2, 2000)
  $ 20.75     $ 6.00  
2001:
               
 
First Quarter
  $ 13.625     $ 6.375  
 
Second Quarter
  $ 15.00     $ 8.17  
 
Third Quarter
  $ 11.00     $ 3.25  
 
Fourth Quarter
  $ 3.90     $ 1.90  

On March 11, 2002 there were approximately 95 stockholders of record of our common stock. We have never declared or paid cash dividends. We currently intend to retain any earnings for use in our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future.

Use of Proceeds

On October 31, 2000, the Securities and Exchange Commission declared effective our registration statement on Form S-1 (file number 333-43140), relating to the initial public offering of 3,000,000 shares of our common stock, $.01 par value per share, at a price to the public of $14.00 per share. The offering commenced on November 2, 2000 and closed on November 7, 2000. The aggregate offering price to the public of the initial public offering was $42,000,000. The proceeds to us, net of underwriting discounts and commissions of $2,940,000 and offering expenses of $1,300,000, was approximately $37.7 million. Through December 31, 2001, approximately $11.4 million of the net offering proceeds was spent, of which $4.8 million was spent on capital equipment and the remainder on general operations. We have invested all of such proceeds in investment grade, interest-bearing securities. Other than for compensation and reimbursement for expenses incurred in the performance Evergreen business, none of the net proceeds from the offering were used to pay, directly or indirectly, directors, officers, persons owning ten percent or more of our equity securities, or affiliates of us.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

Effective April 30, 2001, a shareholder exercised in full a warrant to purchase up to 16,904 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price equal to $4.33 per share. Pursuant to the warrant’s cashless exercise feature, the Company issued to the shareholder 9,728 shares of the Company’s Common Stock. Effective May 3, 2001, a second

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shareholder exercised in full a warrant to purchase up to 9,237 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price equal to $4.33 per share. Pursuant to the warrant’s cashless exercise feature, the Company issued to the second shareholder 5,843 shares of the Company’s Common Stock. Effective May 23, 2001, a third shareholder exercised in full a warrant to purchase up to 184,757 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price equal to $4.33 per share. Effective July 30, 2001, a fourth shareholder exercised in full a warrant to purchase up to 15,195 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price equal to $4.33 per share. Pursuant to the warrant’s cashless exercise feature, the Company issued to the fourth shareholder 8,476 shares of the Company’s Common Stock. The Company made the foregoing issuances in reliance upon an exemption from the registration provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 set forth in Section 4(2) thereof as a transaction by an issuer not involving a public offering.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA:

         You should read the data set forth below in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” appearing elsewhere in this filing. The statement of operations data presented below for the fiscal years ended December 31, 1999, 2000, and 2001 and the balance sheet data at December 31, 2000, and 2001 have been derived from our financial statements which have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent accountants, and which appear elsewhere in this filing. The statement of operations data presented below for the years ended December 31, 1997 and 1998, and the balance sheet data at December 31, 1997, 1998 and 1999 have been derived from our financial statements that have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and are not included in this filing.

                                         
    Year Ended December 31,
   
    1997   1998   1999   2000   2001
   
 
 
 
 
    (in thousands, except for per share data)
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA:
                                       
Product revenues
  $ 153     $ 163     $ 189     $ 419     $ 1,546  
Research revenues
    556       1,395       2,113       1,753     $ 932  
 
   
     
     
     
     
 
     Total revenues
    709       1,558       2,302       2,172       2,478  
Operating Expenses:
                                       
     Cost of product revenues
    1,007       955       991       2,757       9,577  
     Research and development expenses, including cost of
        research revenues
    2,051       2,373       3,085       3,266       2,916  
     Selling, general and administrative expenses
    809       917       1,303       2,365       4,017  
     Stock-based compensation expense
                18       294       290  
 
   
     
     
     
     
 
Total operating expenses
    3,867       4,245       5,397       8,682       16,800  
Operating income (loss)
    (3,158 )     (2,687 )     (3,095 )     (6,510 )     (14,322 )
Net interest income
    102       165       163       1,305       1,845  
 
   
     
     
     
     
 
Net income (loss)
    (3,056 )     (2,522 )     (2,932 )     (5,205 )     (12,477 )
Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred stock
    (537 )     (953 )     (1,231 )     (2,283 )      
 
   
     
     
     
     
 
Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders
  $ (3,593 )   $ (3,475 )   $ (4,163 )   $ (7,488 )   $ (12,477 )
 
   
     
     
     
     
 
Net income (loss) per common share (basic and diluted)
  $ (4.47 )   $ (4.33 )   $ (5.18 )   $ (2.96 )   $ (1.10 )
Weighted average shares used in computing basic and diluted net income (loss) per common share
    803       803       803       2,530       11,304  
                                         
    Year Ended December 31,
   
    1997   1998   1999   2000   2001
   
 
 
 
 
    (in thousands)
BALANCE SHEET DATA:
                                       
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments
  $ 2,623     $ 4,805     $ 14,455     $ 45,994     $ 26,263  
Working capital
    426       4,985       14,982       46,056       26,591  
Total assets
    3,755       5,893       16,318       55,783       44,861  
Total redeemable convertible preferred stock
    7,250       15,014       29,293              
Total stockholder’s equity (deficit)
    (5,955 )     (9,357 )     (13,502 )     54,143       43,055  

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS:

         We caution readers that statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are not strictly historical statements constitute forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the private securities litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified with such words as “we expect”, “we believe”, “we anticipate” or similar indications of future expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and involve risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, including, among other things, those risks and uncertainties described below in this Annual Report under the caption “Certain Factors Which May Affect Future Results” and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report.

OVERVIEW

         We develop, manufacture and market solar power products for the global marketplace. Solar cells are semiconductor devices that convert sunlight into electricity and form the building block for all solar power products. To date, our product sales have been primarily solar panels, which have been used to generate electricity for on-grid and off-grid applications. Off-grid applications have included the electrification of rural homes, lighting for small, rural schools and power supplies for water pumping. More recently, an increasing percentage of our products have been used by on-grid customers as a clean, renewable source of alternative or supplemental electricity.

         Product revenues. Product revenues consist of revenues from the sale of solar cells, panels and systems. We recognize product revenues upon shipment. Product revenues represented 62.4% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2001 and 19.0% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2000. For the year ended December 31, 2001, sales to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. accounted for approximately $338,000 of our total $1.5 million of product revenues. International product sales accounted for approximately 35% and 93% of total product revenues for the years ended December 31, 2001 and 2000, respectively. We anticipate that international sales, including sales to Kawasaki, will continue to account for a significant portion of our product revenues for the foreseeable future. Currently, all product revenues are denominated in United States dollars. Foreign exchange rate fluctuations have impacted the relative competitiveness of our products in other markets, but we have not had any direct foreign exchange exposure.

         Research revenues. Research revenues consist of revenues from various state and federal government agencies to fund our ongoing research, development, testing and enhancement of our products and manufacturing technology. We have not in the past, nor is it our intention in the future, to pursue contracts that are not part of our ongoing research activities. We recognize research revenues using the percentage of completion method.

         Cost of product revenues. Cost of product revenues consists primarily of salaries and related personnel costs, materials expenses, depreciation expenses, maintenance, rent, royalties on licensed technology and other support expenses associated with the manufacture of our solar power products. We expect to continue to experience costs in excess of product revenues unless we are able to achieve greater manufacturing efficiencies, higher yields, and higher production levels.

         Research and development expenses, including cost of research revenues. Research and development expenses, including cost of research revenues, consist primarily of salaries and related personnel costs, consulting expenses, and prototype costs related to the design, development, testing and enhancement of our products and manufacturing technology. We expense our research and development expenses as incurred. We believe that research and development is critical to our strategic objectives of enhancing our technology, reducing manufacturing costs and meeting the changing requirements of our customers. As a result, we expect that our total research and development expenses will increase in the future.

         Selling, general and administrative expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and related personnel costs, professional fees, rent, insurance and other sales expenses. We expect that selling expenses will increase substantially in absolute dollars as we increase our sales efforts, hire additional sales personnel and initiate additional marketing programs. We expect that general and administrative expenses will increase as we add personnel and incur additional costs related to the growth of our business and our operations as a public company.

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         Stock-based compensation expense. Through December 31, 2000, we recorded total cumulative deferred compensation of approximately $1.3 million representing the difference between fair market value of the common stock and the exercise price on the option grant date. These amounts were presented as a reduction of stockholders’ equity and are being amortized ratably over the vesting period of the options, which is generally four years. The amortization resulted in charges to operations of $294,000 for the year ended December 31, 2000 and $290,000 for the year ended December 31, 2001. We expect to recognize stock-based compensation expense for past grants of approximately $290,000 for each of the years ended December 31, 2002 and 2003, and $72,000 for the year ended December 31, 2004.

         Net interest income. Net interest income consists primarily of interest earned on the holding of short-term, high quality commercial paper, corporate bonds and United States government-backed securities, less any interest paid.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

         The preparation of consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an on-going basis, we evaluate estimates, including those related to bad debts, inventories, investments, and warranty obligations. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

         We believe the following critical accounting policies affect its more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of its consolidated financial statements. We mai