Consortium with REpower awarded 954 MW of wind farm tender in Québec/Canada

Hamburg/Montreal, 5 May 2008. The St-Laurent Énergies consortium, with which wind turbine manufacturer REpower Systems AG (WKN 617703) has concluded an exclusive option agreement concerning the delivery of wind turbines last year, has announced today that it has been awarded five wind projects by the energy supplier Hydro-Quebec Distribution, representing a total capacity of 954 Megawatts (MW) in the Canadian province of Québec. The consortium is led by EDF Energies Nouvelles (a subsidiary of the electric utility EDF and long-term REpower client) and includes Hydromega Services Inc. (a Québec independent power producer), and RES Canada (international wind farm developer and construction company). On 18 September 2007, the consortium submitted a bid with a total power of 1,048 megawatts to Hydro-Quebec Distribution which shall exclusively be equipped with REpower turbines of the 2-megawatt class (MM82 and MM92). Once the Power Purchase Agreements finalised between Hydro-Québec and St-Laurent Énergies, the order would be amongst the biggest in the wind industry thusfar.

The five wind farm projects with a total capacity of 954 MW have in-service dates between December 2011 and December 2015. They are situated in the regional counties (MRCs) of Minganie (Aguanish wind farm– 80 MW), Les Etchemins et Bellechasse (Massif-du-Sud wind farm – 150 MW), La Matapédia et La Mitis (Lac-Alfred wind farm – 300 MW), Charlevoix et Le Fjord-du-Saguenay (Rivière-du-Moulin wind farm – 350 MW) et Charlevoix-Est (Clermont wind farm – 74 MW).

These five projects represent a total investment in excess of $ 2.0 billion and will significantly contribute to the Quebec economy, most notably in the regions of Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the regional county of Matane.

At least 60 per cent of the total investment, or more than $ 1.2 billion, will be spent in Quebec, 30 per cent of which are related to the manufacturing of wind turbine components which will be developed in the regions of Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the regional county (MRC) of Matane, requiring the fabrication of turbine blades, towers and electrical converters. St-Laurent Energies will be finalizing power purchase agreements with Hydro-Quebec Distribution in the coming months, each of which must be approved by the Quebec Energy Board. Prior to commencing construction, the consortium must obtain all required governmental permits, approvals and environmental authorizations as well as the appropriate municipal construction permits.

REpower’s CEO Per Hornung Pedersen states, “We are extremely delighted with this decision which shows Hydro-Quebec’s huge trust into our company as the exclusive deliverer of 2 MW turbines for the consortium. He adds: “Facilities in Québec are going to be an integral part of REpower’s global supply chain and central in responding to our growing market share in the important North American market.”