New Hampshire's Clean Power Development and Biomass Unit of Gestamp, a Global Leader in Renewable Energy, Sign Agreement to Develop, Finance and Operate Projects Across Northeast

CONCORD, N.H., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Gestamp Biomass, a division of Gestamp Renewables, and Clean Power Development, LLC today announced the signing of an agreement under which they will work together to develop, finance and operate biomass energy projects across the Northeast region of the United States.

Clean Power Development is a Concord-based renewable energy development company focused on wood biomass-fueled electrical and thermal production projects. Gestamp Biomass is a division of Gestamp Renewables, a global leader in wind, solar and biomass energy and a subsidiary of Gestamp Corporation.

In 2009, Gestamp Corporation, which has worldwide operations in steel and automotive components as well as renewable energy, had total revenues of more than US$6 billion.  Gestamp Corporation operates 80 plants in 25 countries, including five U.S. plants located in Alabama, Michigan and South Carolina, with a new facility planned for Tennessee. Gestamp Renewables' U.S. activities include wind power operations in Oklahoma and Nebraska and plans to build one of the world's largest solar power facilities in New Mexico.

"We are very pleased to join forces with Clean Power Development to pursue a wide range of opportunities across the Northeast, making investments that will strengthen the region's energy infrastructure and help businesses grow and prosper," said Emilio L. Lopez Carmona, Chief Executive Officer of Gestamp Biomass. "Clean Power Development's impressive management team brings essential expertise to our plan to significantly expand our presence in biomass energy in the USA."

Mel Liston, President of Clean Power Development, said, "We're happy to be working with a global company of Gestamp's stature and considerable resources in the renewable energy sector.  Together, we are in a strong position to identify and develop sensible, efficient biomass energy solutions that will benefit communities throughout the Northeast region."

While multiple projects are under consideration in New Hampshire, the first to move forward under the exclusive agreement will be a 29-megawatt Combined Heat and Power (CHP) biomass facility in Berlin, NH, which is fully permitted to begin construction, Liston said.  The plant, which will directly employ 23 people, will be located on a greenfield site away from the town's center.

"The Clean Power business model includes selling both thermal and electrical energy to nearby or co-located industries," Liston said. "This allows the project to serve as the catalyst for additional development, sustaining existing industry such as Fraser/Gorham mill, and to provide a cost-effective thermal source for a city-wide District Heating System in Berlin."

The agreement between Gestamp Biomass and Clean Power Development covers their joint activities in the six New England states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, plus New York and Pennsylvania. Under the agreement, Clean Power Development will identify and provide due diligence related to existing operational biomass facilities for possible acquisition by Gestamp Biomass and will also manage a portfolio of selected new biomass energy projects to be developed throughout the region. Clean Power Development will provide a suite of services during acquisition, development, construction and operation of the Gestamp Biomass-owned projects and operating facilities.

Gestamp Biomass will support development, provide project equity and arrange the balance of plant financing for the projects undertaken. Gestamp Biomass will also bring advantages to the projects its through business and commercial associations related to energy marketing, engineering, construction, energy facilities operations, and biomass fuel-procurement experience world-wide.

Each state within the area covered by this agreement has unique potential based upon the sustainable volume of biomass that should appropriately be utilized for energy production. It is anticipated that the eight-state region will collectively provide as much as 180 megawatts of new biomass potential that can be developed by the Gestamp/Clean Power team through environmentally and socially responsible development of high-efficiency CHP projects. The team's focus will be on building multiple, appropriately scaled projects that use the limited native biomass resources in a distributed way and that maximize synergies with industry and local communities.  Among its objectives will be improving the region's carbon footprint and increasing long-term employment in green-energy production.

The Gestamp/Clean Power's office and core activities will be based in Concord, NH, strengthening the state capital's role as a center of renewable energy development for the Northeast region of the United States.

About Gestamp Biomass

Gestamp Biomass, a subsidiary of Gestamp Corporation, promotes, builds and operates its own plants worldwide and supplies fuel for biomass plants. Its parent company, Gestamp Corporation, headquartered in Spain, is also a leader in steel production and automotive components, with revenue of more than $6 billion in 2009 and over 20,000 employees working in 80 plants across 25 countries, including five factories in the United States. The parent company's Gestamp Renewables division integrates three lines of activity in renewable energies: Gestamp Solar, Gestamp Wind and Gestamp Biomass with activities in more than 10 countries and a fast-growing portfolio of green energy plants all across the United States. Learn more by visiting http://www.gestampbiotermica.com/.

About Clean Power Development

Clean Power Development, LLC is a New Hampshire company that focuses on the development of renewable and sustainable wood-fueled biomass-energy facilities. It is dedicated to the principles of social and environmental responsibility and seeks to establish projects that, by design, help solve the energy and climate challenges that confront our era. Learn more by visiting www.cleanpowerdevelopment.us.

SOURCE Clean Power Development, LLC