New Cree XSP series LED street lights shatter performance and payback barriers for municipalities

Date Announced: 10 Apr 2012 Durham, NC — Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) announces a breakthrough innovation in street lighting with the introduction of the XSP Series LED Street Light – the most affordable and efficient Cree® LED street light designed to speed payback to municipalities. Using nearly 50 percent less energy and designed to last over three times longer than wasteful, traditional high-pressure sodium street lighting, the XSP Series can double the lumens per dollar compared to previous generations of Cree LED street lights and is the ideal choice for cities and municipalities looking to save money and resources.“Cree XSP Series LED Street Lights can help municipalities address budget constraints and provide the best of all worlds – outdoor lighting that lowers energy expenses and reduces maintenance costs,” said Jeff Tews, acting director of street lighting, city of Anchorage. “Anchorage has already made the business case work for LED street lighting with more than 5,000 Cree LEDway® luminaires installed across the city. The new XSP Series LED Street Lights should make every municipality take notice.”Breakthrough engineering improves optical efficiency 15 percent compared to previous generations of LED street lights and reduces the number of LEDs used by more than half without sacrificing application performance – fewer LEDs enable lower luminaire costs and faster payback for customers. NanoOptic® Precision Delivery Grid™ optic technology efficiently delivers light to the street making communities appear cleaner and safer.Based on Cree’s advanced LED technology, the new XSP Series was designed from the ground up to deliver incredible system efficiency of up to 100 lumens per watt and is designed to provide long L70 lifetime of more than 100,000 hours. The breakthrough street light delivers municipalities up to twice the lumens per dollar compared to previous generations and can pay for itself the first time a city avoids sending a crew and truck to replace a bulb.“Cree XSP Series is a giant leap forward in outdoor lighting and is made possible by innovation in every aspect of the product,” said Christopher Ruud, vice president and general manager, Cree lighting.“Capitalizing on innovations in Cree LED chips and components, optic technology and design, and overall luminaire design, the XSP Series exemplifies the best of Cree integrated technology. The result is the best alternative to traditional street lighting with better payback, better performance, and better pricing, allowing municipalities to focus their resources where it matters most.”The Cree XSP Series LED Street Light is sold through Cree lighting sales channels with select versions targeted for availability in May 2012. For more information on Cree XSP Series LED Street Light visit www.cree.com/XSP, and to learn how Cree is accelerating LED lighting adoption, visit www.creeledrevolution.com.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.

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Michelle Murray Cree, Inc. Corporate Communications

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