Germany - MIP develops 24 MW wind farm in the German region of Hohenlohe

At the end of 2007 Meinl International Power Ltd. (MIP) signed the contracts for the acquisition and development of a wind farm project in the German region of Hohenlohe. The plants have been set up by Natural Energy Corporation GmbH (Natenco), a German wind farm developer, which is part of the Theolia Group. The construction work has been completed. The project, which comprises six wind farms, is designed for a total capacity of 24 MW. Investment volume of around EUR 40.8 million. The total cost of investment for the wind farm project amounts to around EUR 40.8 million.

The 6 wind farms are located at regional plateaus in the north-eastern parts of the German regions of Swabia and Franconia (Bavaria). Construction of some plants (10 MW) was completed before the end of 2007 which made them eligible for the higher feed-in tariff granted for the year 2007. The remaining plants will soon be connected to the power grid.

The MM92 wind turbines manufactured by the German company REpower AG have a nominal capacity of 2,000 kW each. The 12 wind turbines installed will generate around 48 million kWh per year. This is sufficient to supply around 14,000 average households with power from renewable energy.

Industry expert as development partner
The project developer and vendor Natenco has so far developed 270 wind power plants with a total output of 360 MW and currently operates 125 wind farms generating more than 500 MW for third parties. Apart from Germany, Natenco also operates successfully in France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Croatia as well as in India and Brazil. The company is domiciled in Stuttgart and since the end of 2006 has been part of Theolia SA, a project developer listed at the Paris stock exchange with years of experience in the field of power generation from wind.

Natenco is responsible for the technical and commercial management of the 6 wind farms and, in cooperation with MIP, is going to develop additional wind farms in Germany and in particular in Eastern Europe.

Wind as an attractive target segment
Favourable regulatory framework conditions make renewable energy currently a particularly interesting area for investment. Attractive feed-in prices assure high revenues for guaranteed and long operating times. In addition, wind farms, like photovoltaic farms, can be built within relatively short periods of time.

Germany is considered the "cradle" of the modern use of wind power and is the global industry leader. Since 2004, Germany has been the country with the highest installed nominal wind energy capacity, a development massively influenced by the subsidization of alternative energy sources through the regulation of feed-in prices.

According to the German Act on Renewable Energy (EEG) a feed-in tariff of EUR 81.9/MWh for wind energy from plants that started operations in 2007 is guaranteed for 20 years, for plants starting operations in 2008, the tariff was slightly reduced to EUR 80.3/MWh.

The wind farm project "Hohenlohe" is an outstanding investment opportunity. First, the wind farm will start full operation at the beginning of 2008 and generate cash flows quickly. Secondly, Germany offers attractive feed-in prices at low risk. Although Germany is not part of MIP´s core target region, the project enables the company to gain experience in the field of wind energy in a safe environment: know-how that can then be transferred to the development and implementation of other wind power projects in Eastern and South Eastern Europe.

MIP is pursuing numerous wind farm projects in Eastern and South Eastern Europe. Projects are currently being developed and/or examined in the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Poland and Croatia. Most of the wind markets in this region are still at a very early stage of development and the regulatory framework varies considerably. At the end of 2007 MIP signed a contract securing the rights to a wind farm in the Slovak Republic. A decision on feed-in prices for wind power is expected to be made soon in the Slovak Republic; this decision will guide the development of the project which MIP has secured.