REH.L Regulatory News (REH)

20 Jul 2005 07:00

Renewable Energy Holdings plc20 July 2005 Renewable Energy Holdings plc £33m Conditional Acquisition of 41.7MW Wind Farm in Germany Renewable Energy Holdings plc ("REH" or the "Company"), the AIM listed investorin proven and innovative renewable energy technologies, today announces that ithas reached an agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of WindparkKesfeld-Heckhuscheid GMBH & Co. KG ("Windpark"). Windpark, which is ultimately owned by EDF Energies Nouvelles S.A ("EDF"), wasestablished to build a 32.5MW wind farm located in Kesfeld, Germany. It isexpected that 27.9MW's will be fully operational by the end of November 2005,with the remaining 4.6MW's being operational by the end of July 2006. In addition, a sale and purchase agreement is expected to be signed within thenext 7 days in relation to Kirf GMBH & Co. KG ("Kirf"). Kirf, located at a siteclose to Kesfeld, and which is also ultimately owned by EDF, was established tobuild a 9.2MW wind farm which is expected to be fully operational by the end ofJuly 2006. Both deals are conditional on various conditions precedent, including, interalia, financing which is being arranged through HVB Bank, Munich, thefinalisation of turnkey construction contracts, and the giving of a guarantee byEDF. The cost of the projects to REH is expected to be £33 million, with 80 percentfunded through debt financing and the remaining £6.6m supplied through REH'sexisting cash reserves. The final purchase price is subject to the projectsbeing completed on time and to cost and may be reduced if the construction issubject to delays or increase in cost. The 1.3 and 2.3 MW wind turbines to beused on both sites are to be provided by Siemens AG. The wind farms, when fully operational, are anticipated to produce 95,000 MWhours annually with a 20 year tariff for the electricity produced. The wind farmis expected to be operational for a 20 to 25 year period and it is expected thatnet annual revenues from the project will exceed the cost of REH's currentannual corporate overhead. Mike Proffitt, Chief Executive of REH, commented: "We are delighted to have completed our first renewable energy project. To enterinto agreements with companies of the standing of EDF and Siemens confirms REHas an emerging force in the renewable energy sector. Although after conductingdue diligence on the 2MW landfill gas project in Wales we have decided not topursue this further, through our strong relationships with Climate ChangeCapital and Standard Chartered Bank plc we continue to have a strong dealpipeline in wind, run of river, and biomass." Renewable Energy Holdings plc Binns & Co PR Ltd Corporate Synergy PlcMike Proffitt, Chief Executive Paul McManus John Prior Tel: 020 7153 1485Tel: 01624 64 11 99 Mob: 07980 541 893 Tel: 020 7626 2244 Editor's notes REH floated on AIM on 11 February 2005 raising £10.0m (before expenses) by wayof a placing with institutional and other investors. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange