EPURON implements first photovoltaic project in Italy

- Successful entry into the rapidly growing Italian photovoltaic market

- Italy commits to the development of renewable energy - Large scale projects continue to gain importance

- Collaboration with leading European food producer Amadori

Hamburg, May 14, 2007: EPURON GmbH has begun constructing a 900 kilowatt photovoltaic project with the help of its subsidiary in Italy. The projects are divided among three locations in the centre of Italy: Mosciano, Notaresco and Cesena. EPURON’s Brescia office will manage the implementation of this project by the middle of this year, which is one of the biggest photovoltaic installations in Italy.

This project was made possible through a co-operation with Amadori, a leading European food producer. EPURON will implement three PV plants on available space that it is leasing from Amadori. This will help Amadori generate additional long-term yields. This model has been successfully used by EPURON before. In 2005, EPURON collaborated with the tyre manufacturer Michelin to implement the world's largest PV rooftop plant. "We will continue to pursue co-operation with large companies in Italy. Many companies are very open to contribute in climate protection alongside their normal business activities," said Thomas-Tim Saevecke, Managing Director of EPURON, also responsible for the photovoltaic division. "Responsibility is something of a company tradition at Amadori. We have been keenly interested in nature conservation, since that is closely related to the agriculture business. With this project, we have the added advantage of generating extra revenue from otherwise unused space“, said Francesco Amadori, founder and Managing Director of Amadori, referring to his commitment.

Crystalline modules with a power output of 300 kilowatts will be installed on a free-field site in Mosciano and Notaresco. The project in Notaresco will be implemented using sun-tracking systems. Due to the comparably low irradiation values in Cesena (the most northern location), the company will install a free-field plant with thin-film modules. The installation will deliver a high energy output even with low levels of sunlight. EPURON has successfully implemented large-scale plants with this innovative technology in Germany and will continue to extend its international project pipeline for thin-film plants in the future.

EPURON can expect continued growth in renewable energy thanks to the introduction of the Italian feed-in law “´Conto Energia” which passed in 2005 and has been adjusted to meet the German electrical initiative in February of this year. EPURON is expanding operations for large-scale projects in Italy beyond photovoltaics to include wind and bio-energy. Last year, EPURON implemented its first wind park with a 12 megawatt output in the region of Puglia.