Enovos Luxembourg SA and Avelar Energy Ltd. to Form Joint Venture in Photovoltaics

LUXEMBOURG, March 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- On 3 March 2010, Enovos Luxembourg SA and Avelar Energy Ltd. (based in Zurich), signed a contract to form a joint venture under the name 'Aveleos S.A.'. The objective of this new company, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, is to develop, operate and bring to the market photovoltaic plants in Italy and France with a total capacity of up to 95 MW.

Enovos Luxembourg SA is a 59% shareholder in the new company with an investment of EUR 36 million. Avelar is investing EUR 25 million, giving it a 41% stake. Aveleos SA makes use of attractive feed-in tariffs and high sun intensity in Italy and France. With this investment, Enovos Luxembourg underlines its commitment to the field of renewable energies. 'The joint venture with Avelar Energy is a strategic partnership that allows us to build on our experience in the field of photovoltaics,' says CEO of Enovos Luxembourg, Jean Lucius. 'We're also delighted that the headquarters of the new company will be in Luxembourg.' Enovos commissioned a photovoltaic park with an output of 6 MW near Trier in November last year.

Besides the majority stake in Aveleos, Enovos Luxembourg will acquire 11 photovoltaic parks with an energy output of 1 MW each from Avelar Energy. The plants, which are all located in the region of Apulia, Italy, will go into operation later this year.

Enovos Luxembourg S.A., a 100% subsidiary of Enovos International S.A.

Enovos International S.A. is - as a group - a newcomer, headquartered in Luxembourg, arising from the combination of three strong traditional, regionally embedded energy companies formerly named Soteg, Cegedel & Saar Ferngas. Enovos International S.A. is the company, holding a stake in Enovos Luxembourg S.A. and Creos Luxembourg S.A., with each owning their German subsidiaries, respectively for market and grid activities.

758 employees supply about 165,000 customers with electricity and gas via 7,400 km electricity lines and 2,100 km of gas pipelines. Alongside its traditional and core business, the company develops substantially its activities in the renewable energies. The group of five companies has a 1.4 billion euros turnover.

A 28.3% stake of Enovos International S.A. is owned by the Luxembourg government and 10.8% by the state-owned investment bank S.N.C.I.. ArcelorMittal detains - 25.3%, RWE - 19.8%, E.ON - 10.8% and Electrabel - 5.1%.

About Avelar Energy Group

Avelar Energy Group is a Zurich-based energy company, established in 2006. It is an independent producer in the renewable energy sector with a focus on Italy. In late 2008 Avelar acquired a stake in Kerself Group, the leading Italian producer of solar cells and modules and in the installation of photovoltaic systems.

Avelar's activities cover several areas of the energy sector. Among them are: trading with power and gas in the Italian market, development of solar and wind parks, construction of a 400 MW gas-fired power station in cooperation with Alpiq and development of a gas storage plant with a working gas capacity of 1,4 bcm.

SOURCE Enovos Luxembourg S.A.