Cree shines the LED light on Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base

Date Announced: 03 Nov 2011 -- More than 930 Cree LED Fixtures Installed in Base RenovationDURHAM, N.C. -- Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, announces that more than 930 LR6™ six-inch LED downlights and LR24™ LED lay-in luminaries have been installed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base as part of an overall renovation currently underway. Located outside of San Diego, Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps, serving as its prime amphibious training base for nearly 100,000 Marines.Prior to installation, Accelerated Electric, Inc., the electrical contractor for this project, and RA Burch, the general contractor, commissioned third-party testing of the Cree LR24 luminaries against the proposed linear fluorescent lighting to evaluate the amount of heat distributed and impact on air conditioning. The study found that the LED luminaires put out 44 percent less heat than the proposed fluorescents and contributed a 15 degree rise in ambient temperature rather than the 25 degree increase from fluorescents when compared to a baseline of no lighting."Based on the results from our model, we were able to demonstrate the efficacy of Cree LED fixtures, which use 31 percent less energy than traditional fluorescent lighting, for the Camp Pendleton installation," said William Porges, president of Accelerated Electric, Inc. "Utilizing these fixtures can significantly reduce building electrical loads and result in dramatically lowered energy costs. We also found that additional energy savings can be attributed to the decrease in air conditioning usage."“With the increased focus on greening government facilities, Camp Pendleton is a great example of how easy it is to achieve both energy and maintenance savings with LED lighting,” said David Elien, Cree, vice president LED lighting adoption. “The energy-efficient Cree products used in this installation comply with the Buy American Act and fulfill base lighting needs while providing high-quality light, reduced maintenance and potential HVAC savings, helping Camp Pendleton join the LED Lighting Revolution.”About CreeCree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications.Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, electronic signs and signals, power supplies and solar inverters.For additional product and company information, please refer to www.CreeLEDLighting.com. To learn more about the LED Lighting Revolution, please visit www.creeledrevolution.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 risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping up production of our new products; customer acceptance of LED products; the possibility that actual savings may vary from expectations; 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 27, 2010, and subsequent filings.Cree is a registered trademark and LR6 and LR24 are trademarks of Cree, Inc.

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Michelle Murray Cree, Inc. Corporate Communications (919) 407-5505

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Web Site:www.cree.com/press/press_detail.asp?i=1317907138176