DGAP-News: Solar Millennium AG:
(firmenpresse) - DGAP-News: Solar Millennium AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
Solar Millennium AG:
18.04.2011 / 21:25
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Corporate News
Blythe solar power plant project in the home stretch: Obama administration
offers conditional commitment for a USD 2.1 billion loan guarantee
- CEO Dr. Christoph Wolff: With the conditional commitment, the most
important prerequisite for the successful financial close for the first
two power plants at the Blythe location is in place
- The Executive Board of Solar Millennium AG expects to complete the
entire financing process in late summer 2011
- Headed for an energy turnaround: new legislation in California improves
market environment for additional solar power plants
Erlangen, Oakland, Washington 18 April 2011 Blythe, the world's largest
solar power plant project, has passed the crucial milestone on its way to
the financial close for the first two of a total of four projected
solar-thermal power plants. The US Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu,
today offered the project company a conditional commitment for a USD 2.1
billion loan guarantee. The loan guarantees are the precondition for
financing some 75% of construction costs of the first two 242 megawatt (MW)
power plants with borrowed capital from the US Federal Financing Bank.
Solar Trust of America LLC, the American company unit within the Solar
Millennium Group, already began construction of the parabolic trough power
plants Blythe 1 and 2 at the end of 2010.
Dr. Christoph Wolff, CEO of Solar Millennium AG: 'As already announced at
the press conference on the occasion of our annual financial statements,
the conditional commitment offered by the Obama administration means that
we have reached the home stretch in the granting of loans by the US Federal
Financing Bank. In times of restrictive public budgets, I am particularly
pleased that the US government is so clearly committed to the energy
turnaround, in which our Blythe power plants will have a great share. For
us this commitment is the most important prerequisite for entering into
successful and detailed negotiations with institutional investors regarding
their involvement in the two power plant projects.' The total investment
sum for the first two solar-thermal power plants projected in Blythe
amounts to roughly USD 2.8 billion.
The conditional commitment defines the covenants to be met by the applicant
in order to receive the loan guarantees by the US Department of Energy
(DOE). Among other conditions, this also includes the conclusion of a
respective general contractor agreement and securing the equity share in
total investment. The Executive Board of Solar Millennium assumes that the
Company will manage to meet all of these conditions by late summer this
year. According to the eligibility guidelines, the conditional commitment
is offered to companies which, after intensive scrutiny by the DOE, are
believed to be able to meet the contractual provisions.
Uwe T. Schmidt, CEO of Solar Trust of America: 'We are grateful to the US
Department of Energy, which has brought our power plants one major step
closer to realization by making this decision in the scope of the loan
guarantee program. The Blythe project is an important move towards securing
independent and sustainable energy supply in the US and also creating
thousands of new jobs. We are convinced that Blythe will both trigger and
drive the growth of solar-thermal electricity supply.' Solar Trust of
America expects to create some 1,000 direct jobs during the construction
phase and several thousand indirect jobs through supplier relations. The
two power plants are to be connected to the grid in 2013 and 2014,
respectively.
The final building permit for all of the four power plants projected at the
Blythe location had already been granted in autumn 2010. Each of the power
plants will have a nominal capacity of 250 MW (242 MW net output). Given a
total of about 1,000 MW projected power plant capacity, the plants in
Blythe will come close to the dimension of nuclear power plants. Together
with other renewable energy sources, solar-thermal power plants will be
able to replace fossil-fuel and nuclear power plants in the long run. The
four power plants combined are to supply enough electricity for more than
300,000 American households and thus save some two million tons of carbon
dioxide emissions per year.
The electricity generated in Blythe 1 and 2 will be purchased by the US
utility Southern California Edison (SCE). As such, SCE meets the
requirements by the state of California to increase the share of renewable
energy sources in total power production. Only last week, California passed
an ambitious law that forces the Californian utilities to cover 33% of
power generation with renewable energies by 2020 (Renewable Portfolio
Standards - RPS). By 2010, the utilities had to meet a target figure of
20%.
By passing the 33%-Renewable Portfolio Standards, California takes the lead
in promoting renewable energies among all the US states. Due to its
well-filled project pipeline with other projected power plants in
California at the Blythe and Palen locations, the Solar Millennium Group
will be in the position to contribute considerably to reaching these
ambitious energy turnaround goals.
About Solar Millennium AG:
Solar Millennium AG, Erlangen, (ISIN DE0007218406) is an international
company in the renewable energy sector, with its main focus on
solar-thermal power plants. Together with its subsidiaries and associates,
the Company specializes in parabolic trough power plants and has managed to
take a globally leading position in this field. Solar Millennium strives to
further extend its expertise in the area of solar-thermal power plants with
the aim of achieving and securing sustainable technology leadership. As
such, the Company covers all important business sectors along the value
chain for solar-thermal power plants: from project development and
financing to the technology and the turnkey construction and operation of
power plants. In Spain, Solar Millennium developed Europe's first parabolic
trough power plants and realized these together with partners. Additional
projects are planned around the world with an overall capacity of more than
2,000 megawatts: here the current regional focus is on Spain, the US, the
Middle East and North Africa.
About Solar Trust of America and Solar Millennium LLC:
Solar Trust of America (STA) is a joint venture of the Solar Millennium
Group (70%) and the Ferrostaal Inc. (30%) and covers important business
fields in the value chain for solar thermal power plants in the region of
North America. This includes the business segments of project development
and financing, engineering, turn-key construction and operation of power
plants. Solar Millennium LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Solar Trust of
America.
About the technology:
Solar-thermal power plants generate electricity by converting solar
radiation into heat energy. In a parabolic trough power plant,
trough-shaped mirrors concentrate the incidental radiation onto a pipe in
the focal line of the collector. Its absorption heats a fluid heat medium
in the pipe, generating steam in the power block through a heat exchanger.
As in conventional power plants, the steam powers a turbine to generate
electricity. By integrating thermal storage, electricity can be supplied on
demand, even after sunset.
For further information:
Solar Millennium AG
Dipl.-Ing. Sven Moormann (Corporate Communications)
Dr. Stefan Eckhoff (Investor Relations)
Tel.: +49 (0)9131 9409-0
E-Mail: presse(at)SolarMillennium.de / investor(at)SolarMillennium.de
Web: www.SolarMillennium.de
This press release constitutes neither an offer to sell nor the
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Solar Millennium AG. The
press release shall not form the basis for investment decisions regarding
securities of the company. Any such investment decision of a prospective
investor shall be based solely on such prospective investor's own
investigations and assessments.
This release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are not
a description of past facts, but rather relate to expectations and opinions
of Solar Millennium AG. These statements are based on current plans,
assessments and forecasts of the company. Investors should not rely on
these statements. Forward-looking statements must be understood in the
context of the circumstances existing at the time when they were made. The
company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements in
this release based on new information or future events. Forward-looking
statements always involve risks and uncertainty. Due to a multitude of
factors, actual events and actual developments may differ significantly
from the forward-looking statements contained herein. This press release
was originally prepared in German. The translation of this release or parts
thereof is considered as a service for journalists, analysts and investors
who are not able to understand German. Only the German version is legally
binding.
End of Corporate News
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120551 18.04.2011
Datum: 18.04.2011 - 21:25 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 33821
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