BP Solar Reveals Sweepstakes Winner for Universal Pictures' Evan Almighty Solar Home Contest

BP Solar Reveals Sweepstakes Winner for Universal Pictures' Evan Almighty Solar Home Contest

Tracy, CA couple get a sweetheart of a deal: A complete solar electric system for their home

TRACY, Calif., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- And so they arrived, two by two -- 12 times to be exact! Stacey Watson counted as her BP Solar panels were being installed on her roof. Mrs. Watson is the winner of BP Solar's Evan Almighty sweepstakes which awarded her a free BP Solar Home Solutions(R) system for her home.

(Logo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000724/NYM120LOGO )

"We're so excited to be able to generate our own electricity right here on our home," said Mrs. Watson. "Everyone knows the cost of electricity always seems to be going up. Our solar system will help us reduce our electric bill while generating clean electricity." The 5 kilowatt solar system is expected to generate up to 75 percent of the family's annual electricity requirements.

BP Solar launched the sweepstakes in June 2007 with the release of the movie. The Watson's were selected in September 2007 from over 13,000 contestants who entered the sweepstakes through the movie's web site.

"We received a flood of attention and a response to the contest that exceeded our expectations," said Geoff Slevin, vice president of sales and marketing for BP Solar North America. "It demonstrates that more and more people are interested in shepherding new clean technologies like solar power onto their homes and into their lives."

Steve Carell, reprising his role as the polished, preening newscaster Evan Baxter of Bruce Almighty, is the next one anointed by God to accomplish a holy mission to build an ark in the comedy Evan Almighty. Evan Almighty is the first major motion picture comedy to Go Zero(SM) and "zero out" the carbon emissions generated through the production of the film. Evan Almighty is now available on DVD and HD DVD.

According to Syd Smith, senior VP for Universal Studios Partnerships, "We were eager to work with BP Solar for this film's promotion. The messages associated with the film's production and the business objectives of BP Solar were well aligned and offered to us the ability to reach and educate a broader audience."

The solar system was installed by First Light Energy based in Manteca, CA, a local BP Solar-trained and certified installer of solar electric systems.

About BP Solar

BP Solar, part of BP Alternative Energy, is a global company with over 2300 employees. BP Solar designs, manufactures and markets products which use the sun's energy to generate electricity for a wide range of applications in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. With over 30 years of experience and installations in more than 160 countries, BP Solar is one of the world's leading solar companies having 228MW annual manufacturing capacity in 2007, plus another 700MW capacity under construction. BP Solar has solar cell and module manufacturing plants in Sydney, Australia; Bangalore, India; Madrid, Spain; and Frederick, MD, USA; and module manufacturing in Xi'an, China. In Frederick it also has casting and wafering facilities. BP Solar invests more than $10m annually in photovoltaic research and development.

BP Alternative Energy, launched in November 2005, combines all of BP's interests in low and zero-carbon energy including wind, solar, hydrogen power with carbon capture and storage, natural gas-fired power generation, biofuels for low carbon transport and distributed energy for emerging markets. For more information, please visit www.bpsolar.us or www.bpalternativenergy.com.

About Evan Almighty

Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Office), reprising his role as the polished, preening newscaster Evan Baxter of Bruce Almighty, is the next one anointed by God to accomplish a holy mission in the hilarious new comedy Evan Almighty. Blockbuster comedy director Tom Shadyac returns behind the camera for this next episode of divine intervention. This time, however, his cast grows two-by-two.

Newly elected to Congress, Evan leaves Buffalo behind and shepherds his family to suburban northern Virginia. Once there, his life gets turned upside-down when God (Morgan Freeman) appears and mysteriously commands him to build an ark. But his befuddled family just can't decide whether Evan is having an extraordinary mid-life crisis or is truly onto something of Biblical proportions... Now available on DVD and HD DVD.

About Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi. For more information about Get On Board, please visit: www.getonboardnow.org/

Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000724/NYM120LOGO
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: BP Solar

CONTACT: BP press office +1-202-457-6603

Web site:

http://www.bp.com/
http://www.bpsolar.us/
http://www.universalstudios.com/
http://www.getonboardnow.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos of the solar home system available upon request. The 5kW solar system will reduce the Watson's electricity bill by approximately $175.00 per month on average, based on their current consumption. This is equal to about 40 weeks worth of free electricity each year, which is about 75 percent of their annual electricity consumption.

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