Pirelli Ambiente and Intesa Sanpaolo will participate in a project of international scale in the renewable energy sector. GWM Re II aims to become a significant player in the European renewable energy field. The company’s portfolio already includes 42 Megawatts of photovoltaic capacity in Italy and in Spain, over 222 Megawatt of wind power operating in four countries, and 52 Megawatts under construction through the Danish company Greentech in which it holds a stake of around 20%.

Solar Utility’s entry will require a total investment of approximately 25 million euros, of which 10 million euro will be in cash and the remainder through the re-investment of the revenue deriving from the sale of its stake in GP Energia Spa, a joint venture constituted last year with GWM Renewable Energy into which Solar Utility conferred its photovoltaic activities. The agreement is part of Pirelli Ambiente’s drive to simplify its holdings and identify strategic partners to develop its activities and to enhance the value of its know-how through minority shareholdings.

Intesa Sanpaolo will enter the company with an investment of about 20 million euros, which demonstrates its great interest in the renewable energy sector and confirms its support for the country’s entrepreneurship.

“We are pleased with this Partnership, very much wanted by all, which brings together industrial and financial partners with the founding group which has an international mission thanks to the partners of Gruppo GWM and Gruppo Rottapharm-Madaus. With over 220MW in operation and 52MW under construction, including wind energy and photovoltaic, and active in 6 European countries, together with our affiliate Greentech, listed on Copenaghen’s Nasdaq, we aim to shortly be among the Top 10 producers of renewable energy in Europe with a development of over 900MW and a prospective in the environmental and water treatment sectors of the highest profile at the international level. Intesa Sanpaolo’s involvement will contribute to our development plan both in terms of ratings and coverage and financial support in the countries where the bank is present. The renewed commitment of the Pirelli group which is increasing its position in our Holding also adds to our potential both in terms of new technological solutions and its presence in emerging countries” said Mr.Eugenio de Blasio, chief executive of the GWM Renewable Energy group.

Pirelli Ambiente is the Pirelli group company specialized in technologies and solutions for sustainable development and activities in the renewable energy sector and the energy efficiency of buildings. Last year Solar Utility, the unit constituted in 2007 to invest in photovoltaic, formed an alliance with GWM Renewable Energy which led to the conferral of its activities into GP Energia, controlled by GWM Renewable Energ SpA, (“GWM RE”), a company which invests in renewable sources held by GWM Group,  an international financial group founded over 10 years ago by Sigieri Diaz della Vittoria Pallavicini.

Intesa Sanpaolo is among the top banking groups in the euro zone, with a market capitalisation of 29.8 billion euro (at 30 June 2011), and leader in Italy in all business areas (retail, corporate and wealth management). Thanks to a network of approximately 5,700 branches capillary and well distributed throughout the country, with market shares above 15% in most Italian regions, the Group offers its services to about 11 million customers. Intesa Sanpaolo has a selected presence in Central-Eastern Europe and Middle Eastern and North African countries with a network of more than 1,700 branches and 8.3 million customers of subsidiaries operating in retail and commercial banking in 13 countries. Moreover, the international network specialised in supporting corporate customers is present in 29 countries, in particular the Middle Eastern and North African area and those areas where Italian companies are most active, such as the United States, Russia, China and India.

Pirelli Ambiente, the company in the Pirelli Group operating in the field of renewable energy, signed a licensing agreement with Bosco International, which promotes systems and industrial processes for a sustainable environment, which will allow the Australian company to use the Pirelli patent for production of high quality solid recovered fuel (HQ-SRF) derived from municipal solid waste (MSW).

The Pirelli technology will initially be used in the Latrobe Valley in Victoria, Australia, as part of the program ‘Towards Zero Waste Policy’ introduced by the local government for containment of waste, with the aim of converting the 600,000 tons of MSW produced annually by the city of Melbourne into fuel. In particular, the exchange of technology will stimulate an investment by Bosco International to develop an HQ-SRF plant in Australia, once authorizations are obtained from local authorities.

The Pirelli HQ-SRF is obtained by adding other components with a high calorific power ( plastic from D.C. and rubber) to dry solid urban waste. It can be used to partially replace fossil fuels in already existing, non-dedicated, plants, such as cement works and thermal power plants and it yields significant environmental benefits for the population, both in terms of lower emissions in particular of CO2, NOX and SO2 from fossil fuels, and in economic terms (lower waste disposal costs).

The integrated system promoted by Pirelli Ambiente has been successfully used since late 2002 in the Cuneo Provincial Authority Area, with the Idea Granda project, a public-private partnership owned 49% by Pirelli, and 51% by local utility ACSR, with cement works Buzzi-Unicem of Robilante, which uses HQ-SRF in its main burner substituting more than 40% of coal-petkoke needed. From its beginning, this system has meant energy recovered from waste in the area rose more than 32%, a level greater than the Italian average (7%) and greater than the European average (27%). In addition, according to a study by the University of Milan in Bicocca using the Life Cycle Assessment Method, use of Pirelli HQ-SRF is, respectively, 90 and 72 times more advantageous for the environment than landfills and incinerators.

Pirelli Ambiente
Pirelli Ambiente is the Pirelli Group company focused on renewable energy. In the field of renewable energy sources and, in particular, of energy recovery from MSW (Municipal Solid Waste), Pirelli Ambiente has developed and patented a High-Quality Solid Recovered Fuel (HQ-SRF). In the photovoltaic energy sector, Pirelli Ambiente created Solar Utility SpA, which invests in roof based solar energy systems for production in Italy.

Bosco International
Bosco International Pty Ltd, established in 2006, facilitates services, systems and processes for industry sectors seeking to create a sustainable environment, including saving energy or protecting resources. Bosco works with Australian and international companies, to offer sustainable environmental solutions. It seeks to achieve approvals and introduce new processes and systems for positive environmental results in: Waste management, Recycling, Power Generation, Manufacturing, Soil Remediation, Water treatment, Agribusiness, Natural Resources, Infrastructure, and Mining.

Pirelli Ambiente and Global Cleantech Capital (GCC) reached an agreement for acquisition by Pirelli Ambiente of the 50% stake owned by GCC in the joint venture Solar Utility. The transaction, worth approximately 8 million Euro, will increase Pirelli Ambiente’s stake to 100% of the company.

The purchase of the 50% stake not previously held by Pirelli Ambiente will allow it to pursue new growth opportunities for Solar Utility, including through industrial partnerships like the one recently begun with Norwegian national energy utility Statkraft, as the first step to creating an important player in the renewable energy industry in Italy.

Solar Utility was founded in 2007 as a 50/50 joint venture between Pirelli Ambiente and GCC, a private equity fund specialized in clean energy investments, in order to make joint investments in the photovoltaic sector. Since its creation, the company has realized projects which, by the end of this year, will reach 7MW of energy produced and connected. Last September, in addition, Solar Utility has reached an important agreement with Statkraft, Norway’s national energy corporation, to develop and transfer eight photovoltaic projects in Puglia for a total production of nearly 20 MW.

The agreement was signed today at the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference in Hamburg. The first phase is a joint development of photovoltaic plants in Italy where Statkraft, will initially acquire approximately 20 megawatts of solar power projects with license from Solar Utility. Work on establishing an EPC contract for the construction of the solar plants will start immediately.

The agreement allows Statkraft to grow faster in the Italian market, where a combination of high solar radiation levels and strong market outlook make Italy a top solar market for renewable players. For Solar Utility, the agreement represents an opportunity to strengthen its business as a co-developer of projects in cooperation with a solid industrial partner.

Thanks to the cooperation, the partners will also be able to take advantage of synergies between Solar Utility and Statkraft.

Solar Utility is a 50/50 joint venture between Pirelli Ambiente and Global Cleantech Capital which invests in photovoltaic plants destined to owners of public, commercial and industrial buildings, supplying them in exchange with “green” energy at competitive prices. In addition, Solar Utility can assign photovoltaic plants to investors interested in stable returns in the long run, as guaranteed by the Italian incentive scheme “Conto Energia” of 19 February 2007.

Statkraft is Europe’s largest renewable energy company. The Group develops and generates hydropower, wind power, gas power and district heating, and is a major player on the European power exchanges. Statkraft also develops marine energy, osmotic power solar power, and other innovative energy solutions. In 2008 Statkraft posted gross operating revenues of EUR 3.1 billion. The group employs 3,200 staff in more than 20 countries.

Pirelli Eco Technology, a company in the Pirelli Group active in technology for lowering pollutant emissions from diesel engines, signed an agreement for the supply of about 150 particulate filters to some Lombardy-based companies in the Arriva Italia Group, a leading operator in passenger transportation present in Lombardy, Piedmont and Friuli Venezia. The aim of the initiative is to reduce by more than 90% the particulate emissions from about 150 inter-city buses.

Thanks to installation of the Pirelli filter apparatus, the Arriva Italia Group will reduce by about 12,000 kg annually the particulate matter emitted into the atmosphere by the buses in its fleet in circulation. Thanks to this agreement, the buses of the Arriva Italia Group on which the filter systems are installed, will significantly improve their emissions classes, which will be able to change from Euro 0 or Euro 1 to Euro 3 or Euro 4/5, according to the age and type of engine.
This solution has been realized in accordance with the currently applicable regional norms for prevention and protection of health and environment, which exempt vehicles with particulate filters from possible limits on traffic circulation. The Transportation Ministry, in its Decree published on 13 March 2008, recognized the benefits of this technology, admitting its registration on circulation documents. This allows for modification of the “Euro” class of the bus or heavy vehicle, updating particulate emissions to more recent classes.

Arriva p.l.c., which is present in Europe in 10 nations and counts more than 15,000 vehicles, is highly committed to environmental protection and involved in various initiatives for containment of fuel and energy consumption and experimentation with alternative and ecological energy sources.
Cesare Salerno, Managing Director of the Arriva Italia Group, said “fitting with particulate filters is an optimal solution which allows for containment of gas emissions even of older vehicles, making them absolutely comparable, from this point of view, with newer vehicles. With this initiative Arriva confirms its commitment to environmental protection, and hopes this commitment can be shared by everyone through greater use of public transportation.”
“The choice of the Arriva Italia Group – said Bruno Tronchetti Provera, Managing Director of Pirelli Eco Technology – demonstrates the usefulness of the technology developed by Pirelli in support of the commitment by public transportation companies to combat particulate matter emissions. With the simple substitution of the muffler and installation of our filter system, available in 40 different solutions for buses, transportation companies can comply with EU norms in terms of polluting emissions.”

Pirelli Eco Technology
Pirelli Eco Technology is the company in the Pirelli Group active in solutions for sustainable mobility and reduction of emissions of diesel engines with the production of Gecam, the white diesel, and Feelpure particulate filters. Filter systems for buses and heavy vehicles already in circulation (retrofit) are manufactured in the factory in Arese in the province of Milan. Starting from mid 2008, the new factory in Romania for production of original equipment filters will also be operative.
Arriva p.l.c.
In Italy currently Arriva is the leading privately held public transportation operator, present in Northern Italy with SAB of Bergamo, SIA and SAIA of Brescia, SAL of Lecco, KM of Cremona, ASF of Como, SAF of Udine, TT of Trieste, SADEM of Grugliasco (TO) and SAPAV of Pinerolo (TO) for a total of about 2,500 buses.

A.PI.C.E., USING PIRELLI AMBIENTE PATENTS, WILL BUILD AND MANAGE PLANTS FOR MANUFACTURING OF CDR-Q (HIGH QUALITY SOLID RECOVERED FUEL FROM URBAN WASTE)

CDR-Q IS USED AS A PARTIAL SUBSTITUTE FOR COAL IN THERMOELECTRIC POWER STATIONS AND CEMENT KILNS, WITH ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS FOR THE COMMUNITY

PIRELLI AMBIENTE’S PATENTS FOR PRODUCTION OF CDR-Q HAVE BEEN UTILISED SUCCESSFULLY SINCE 2003 IN THE ROBILANTE (BUZZI) CEMENT FACTORY AT THE SERVICE OF 54 TOWNS

Acea and Pirelli Ambiente communicate that their 50/50 joint venture A.PI.C.E. will operate in the sector of renewable energy from waste, bringing together the skills and strong territorial presence of Acea with the experience and technology of Pirelli Ambiente to realize projects for manufacturing of CDR-Q (High Quality Solid Recovered Fuel From Urban Waste), to be used in thermoelectric power stations and cement kilns.

The business model of A.PI.C.E. includes construction and management of plants for manufacturing of CDR-Q.

The CDR-Q patented by Pirelli Ambiente is a quality fuel derived from urban solid waste with the addition of components of high calorific value, and is able to partially substitute fossil fuels in pre-existing plants (thermoelectric power stations and cement kilns), with significant economic and environmental advantages. The use of CDR-Q, in particular, allows for reducing the difficulties of waste disposal and, utilising non-dedicated plants, can contribute substantially to rapidly resolving the problem of waste disposal. For its biomass content, CDR-Q is a renewable energy source whose use contributes to reaching EU objectives for electricity production from renewable sources as well as for CO2 reduction.

CDR-Q has already been used successfully, since 2003, in the Robilante (Buzzi) cement plant at the service of 54 municipalities in the Province of Cuneo.

A recent study by Nomisma Energia (January 2008) estimated that the potential economic and environmental benefits that can be obtained from the use of CDR-Q in Italy in thermoelectric and cement plants, assuming a widely generalized use, are:

- Reduction by circa 6.5 million tons of urban solid waste per year;
- CO2 emissions reduction of 7 million tons per year;
- 2.7 terawatt/hour (TWh) increase in electricity production from renewable sources per year, equal to the consumption of one million families;
- Energy savings of 1.85 million tons oil equivalent (Mtep) per year, versus an overall Italian national objective of 2.9 million tons oil equivalent (Mtep) per year.

Acea, the Rome-based electricity, gas and water utility, is a leading Company in Italy for water and energy supply project management, infrastructure operating and retail management. Thanks to an integration process between different services and new technology development, ACEA is today a European-standard multiservice company, close to citizens’ needs.

Pirelli Ambiente provides solutions for the environment and for sustainable development. It is a unit of the Pirelli Group, which also operates in the tyre, real estate, and broadband sectors in over 160 countries worldwide, focusing on products and processes that are increasingly eco-compatible and on innovative solutions.

Solar Utility SpA , a 50/50 joint venture between Pirelli Ambiente and the fund Global Cleantech Capital (GCC) , signed today a convention with the town of Alessano (Lecce) for the realization and management of photovoltaic plants , with an investment of about 5.5 million euros , in line with the business plan. The company has already guaranteed supply of the photovoltaic modules needed for realization of the project.

The solar panels will be installed on buildings and lands owned by the town of Alessano, thanks to a thirty year agreement. The total power installed will amount to about 1.1 MegaWatts and will allow for the annual production of “clean” electricity for more than 1,600,000 kiloWatthours, equivalent to the energy consumption of more than 600 families .

The investment in Alessano will accelerate Solar Utility’s forecast growth plan. With this agreement, Solar Utility launches its program for investment in South Italy, where there is a high level of solar exposure.

The agreement with Solar Utility will allow the town of Alessano to reach significant economic savings, such as cutting to zero the electrical bills of municipal buildings, thanks to the large size of the panels installed, and recognition of a royalty on the production of electricity, without using any public money.

Solar Utility is a 50/50 joint venture between Pirelli Ambiente and Global Cleantech Capital which invests in photovoltaic plants destined to owners of public, commercial and industrial buildings, supplying them in exchange with “green” energy at competitive prices. In addition, Solar Utility can assign photovoltaic plants to investors interested in stable returns in the long run, as guaranteed by the Italian incentive scheme “Conto Energia” of 19 February 2007.

Pirelli Ambiente is the Pirelli Group Company operating in the business of providing solutions for the environment and for sustainable development . Pirelli Ambiente can offer to the market a vast range of solutions with low environmental impact and high-tech contents of the highest order. The company is focused on products and processes that are increasingly eco-compatible and on innovative solutions.

Global Cleantech Capital is a leading investor in the energy and cleantech sectors in Europe and North America. GCC focuses on solar energy, green buildings, wind energy, bio-energy and advanced materials in efforts to grow renewable energy production capacity, as well as energy efficiency, thus driving the decrease in carbon footprint.

• THE NEW JV COMPANY, NAMED SOLAR UTILITY, WILL BE HELD 50% BY PIRELLI AMBIENTE AND 50% BY GCC
• SOLAR UTILITY PLANS TO GENERATE, IN ITALY, ABOUT 50 MW OF ELECTRICITY OVER 5 YEARS
• THE FORECASTED INVESTMENT IN EQUITY IS ABOUT 24 €M

Pirelli Ambiente , a company within the Pirelli & C. Group active in the field of renewable energy, and Global Cleantech Capital (GCC) , a clean energy private equity fund, signed today an agreement to establish Solar Utility SpA, a joint venture in the photovoltaic energy sector.

Solar Utility Spa will be held in equal parts by Pirelli Ambiente and GCC. The new JV Company plans to invest about  24 €M in equity, over the next 5 years , in roof based solar energy systems for the production, in Italy, of about 50MW of clean electricity .

Solar Utility will install and own solar systems for commercial and industrial property owners on their property, and sell them green electricity at competitive prices in return . The JV Company will also sell completed solar energy producing projects to investors interested in stable long term cash flows as guaranteed by the government’s 20 year feed-in tariff according to Legislative Decree of 19 February 2007.

Italy, due to its sheer sun intensity, or “insolation” and the government’s incentive scheme, is projected to be one of the top European countries for solar energy production. The Italian market, in fact, is one of the most attractive in Europe given that it has the highest insolation in the Mediterranean area: thanks to natural factors Italian solar energy production could be 30% higher than the current solar market leaders Germany or Japan. Italy is expected, moreover, to become the first European country to reach ‘grid parity’ where the cost of solar power will equal the price of grid electricity – further stimulating the sector’s growth. The Italian photovoltaic industry is already growing at more than 30% per year, and this pace is expected to accelerate in the next 5 years.

Pirelli Ambiente, already active in the renewable energy sector with the CDR-P, the high grade fuel from municipal waste, has decided to further enlarge its activity by investing in photovoltaic energy production. The choice of a leading partner like GCC guarantees mixing Pirelli’s know-how with the experience of a player that has operated successfully for years in the renewable energy sector.
GCC is pleased to add Solar Energy to its portfolio as it aims to create a leading Italian renewable energy producer. GCC has made a clear choice to partner with Pirelli for its experienced team and its strong brand in order to accelerate fast growth – a key success factor in the emerging Italian solar market. GCC also aims to apply new PVtechnologies such as solar energy systems embedded in building materials; Building Integrated Photo Voltaic (BIPV). Italy’s strong culture of world class design offers a great opportunity to become a leader in architectural integration of photovoltaic materials.

Pirelli Ambiente is the Pirelli Group Company operating in the business of  providing solutions for the environment and for sustainable development . Pirelli Ambiente can offer the market a vast range of solutions with low environmental impact and high-tech contents of the highest order. The company is focused on products and processes that are increasingly eco-compatible and on innovative solutions..

Global Cleantech Capital , is a leading investor in the energy and cleantech sectors in Europe and North America. GCC focuses on solar energy, green buildings, wind energy, bio-energy and advanced materials in efforts to grow renewable energy production capacity as well as energy efficiency, thus driving the decrease in carbon footprint. Its Investment Team invested in over 18 companies in the renewable energy sector over the past 5 years helping to establish two global leaders in the solar industry, Renewable Energy Corporation [REC] in Norway and QCells in Germany, with a combined market cap of over 18 billion euro.

for information info@solarutility.it

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