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Torraca, Italy, Officially Joins LED City® Initiative

  
Torraca street lightsDURHAM, NC, May 12, 2008 — Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a leader in LED lighting, today announced that Torraca, Italy, has officially joined the LED City® program. The LED City program is an international initiative to promote the deployment of energy-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) lighting. Last fall, Torraca converted all its streetlights to LED lighting, reporting energy savings of 75 percent over traditional lighting solutions. Located in southern Italy, Torraca is joining a rapidly growing consortium of cities that are deploying LED lighting technology to help reduce energy usage, protect the environment and save taxpayers money.
 
“Our goal was to convert all street lighting to LED technology. We achieved 100 percent LED lighting throughout our streets last fall,” said Mayor Daniele Filizola. “We are more than satisfied with the dramatic energy savings and are planning additional LED conversions throughout our city.”

“We welcome Torraca into the LED City program and applaud its efforts to make energy efficiency a priority for its community,” said Deb Lovig, Cree LED Programs manager. “We congratulate Mayor Filizola and his community for taking a bold step in achieving significant energy savings, especially given the growing global need to conserve energy.”

The LED streetlights currently installed in Torraca contain Cree XLamp® LED-based light engines made by Elettronica Gelbison srl. For additional information on Elettronica Gelbison light engines, please call +39 0974 79007 or visit www.egelbison.com. For additional information on Cree XLamp power LEDs, please call (919) 313-5300 or visit www.cree.com/xlamp.

About LED City

The LED City is an expanding community of government and industry parties working to evaluate deploy and promote LED lighting technology across the full range of municipal infrastructure to:

  • Save energy
  • Protect the environment
  • Reduce maintenance costs
  • Provide better light quality for improved visibility and safety

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 22 percent of electricity used in the U.S. powers lighting. In a world with soaring energy prices based on the availability and control of fossil fuels, and with growing concern about sustainability of the environment, a revolution in lighting is long overdue.

About torraca, italy

Torraca is a small municipality located on the border between Campania and Basilicata. It has the characteristics of an ancient village with the presence of a baronial castle. With a current population of about 1,200 residents, Torraca has experienced considerable development, with construction of various facilities including a kart track, a swimming pool and the establishment of a university facility. Mayor Daniel Filizola and his administration have launched a series of initiatives on environmental issues and the use of renewable energy sources.

About elettronica gelbison srl

Elettronica Gelbison srl (EG) is a privately held company engaged in the manufacturing of LED light engines, products featuring high reliability and energy efficiency. Based in Ceraso, Italy, EG began production of flexible circuits, flex cables and flex heaters in January 2000. In 2007, EG helped Torraca realize its extensive LED street lighting with the PHILOS, a patented floodlight that achieves 75 percent energy savings when compared with existing streetlights in Torraca. EG is also focused on innovative LED temperature control systems, new nano-optics for LED lights, remote controls for LED lights and photovoltaic LED lighting systems.

About Cree, Inc.

Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting retrofit solutions, and semiconductor solutions for backlighting, wireless and power applications. Cree’s product families include LED recessed down lights, lighting-class power LEDs, high brightness LEDs, blue and green LED chips, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors, and wireless communications. For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the possibility that actual energy savings may vary from expectations; customer acceptance of LED products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree's products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 24, 2007, and subsequent filings.

Media Contacts:


Deb Lovig
LED City Program Manager
Cree, Inc.
Deb_Lovig@cree.com
(919) 287-7505

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