RICHMOND, Virginia, October 12 /PRNewswire/ --
Intrinergy, a U.S.-based company specializing in renewable forms ofenergy, announced today that it completed the acquisition of itsjoint-venture partner's interest in Valorbois, a permitted renewable energyproject in Belgium, and will shortly begin construction of the facility.
Once constructed, the facility will gasify wood to generate up to 4megawatts of green electricity and 12 MW (approximately 41 MMBTUs per hour)of thermal energy. The power will be sold to a major utility, and thegenerated heat will be used by a wood pellet manufacturer co-located with thefacility.
Under the initial joint venture agreement, Intrinergy's partners, CERTEnvironnement of France, successfully permitted and planned the facility, andIntrinergy provided capital, detailed engineering, technology selection andthe management and operating team. As of Oct. 2, 2006, Intrinergy completedthe final purchase of the interests of its partners and owns the facilityoutright.
The facility is expected to have 10 employees and is intended to operate24 hours a day, seven days a week. The project is permitted by the WalloonRegion, and preliminary site work has been completed. Detailed design of thefacility is well underway, and construction is scheduled to start in early2007. The facility is expected to be operational in the second half of 2007.
"We are very excited about bringing the power of our approach to renewableenergy to Europe," said John Keppler, CEO of Intrinergy. "The EU hasdemonstrated tremendous leadership on the environment and has worked veryhard to create meaningful opportunities for private sector renewable energycompanies. We think it's a real privilege to commission our first Europeanproject in Belgium, the seat of the EU, and to work with regulators,financial partners, and traditional energy companies who have been committedto the promise of renewable energy for some time."
"This project proves the M&A model can work for small-scale renewableenergy projects," said Henry Pease, managing director of Intrinergy Europe."We think Intrinergy's collaborative joint-venture approach can help ensurethat renewable energy opportunities are built, commissioned and delivered. Wesee increasing levels of project development activity across all types ofrenewables, and we intend to link Intrinergy's capital, engineering andoperating capabilities with the local knowledge and talent of our developmentpartners."
Intrinergy worked with Rockland Capital Energy Investments in theacquisition process. Rockland Capital is an investment company focused on theacquisition, development and optimization of companies and projects in NorthAmerican and European energy sectors.
Intrinergy brings the power of leading renewable energy technologies tolower energy costs and improve the environmental profile of its customers.Intrinergy designs, builds and operates gasification facilities that convertbiomass feedstock into a clean-burning synthesis gas that can be used togenerate heat, steam or electricity, thus offering an environmentallyfriendly, less costly alternative to fossil fuels. Intrinergy is based inRichmond, Virginia. For more information, please visithttp://www.intrinergy.com.
Web site: http://www.intrinergy.com
Intrinergy
In Europe: Henry Pease of Intrinergy, Belgium cell: +32 476 74 85 70, United Kingdom cell: +44-7836-501-834, henry.pease@intrinergy.com; or in U.S.: Tom Morris, +1-804-698-8803, tom.morris@slaypr.com, for Intrinergy
