Gamesa Solar and the Industry Councilor of the Canary Islands Inaugurate the Largest Solar Power Plant on the Island of la Palma

Madrid, 20th October, 2008. Gamesa Solar has inaugurated a new solar power plant in Las Manchas in the municipality of El Paso, a key jurisdiction on the island of La Palma. The new power plant has more than 5,000 photovoltaic modules for a total installed capacity of 1 MW, the highest on the island.

Occupying 1.7 hectares of land, the new plant will provide clean energy to 640 homes on the island which is the equivalent to supplying 27% of El Paso’s population with electricity or 100% of other municipalities such as Tijarafe or Puntagorda.

Gamesa Solar/ 9REN President, Paolo Pietrogrande, underlined the company’s solid experience in this type of projects during the inauguration ceremony and pointed out that “Gamesa Solar has positioned itself not only as Spain’s leading solar energy company, but Europe’s as well”. Pietrogrande explained that Gamesa Solar has plans to “undertake installations for a total of 280 MW in Spain by 2012 boosting solar thermal power”. The Canary Islands, he added, are “an important reference point in the development of solar power and we foresee the installation of an additional 20 MW”.

The new plant, with the highest energy generating potential on the island, will prevent the emission of 1,260,000 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere and has been concluded within the specifications of the Royal Decree of the 29th of September. Local companies and roughly 100 technicians and specialized operatives were involved in the project.

This new PV plant is another example of Gamesa Solar’s role on the national and European market for solar energy. The company has a great deal of experience and important technological know-how with 64 running solar plants capable of producing 93 MW.

The Councilor of Industry for the Canary Islands, Jorge Marín Rodríguez Díaz, was also present at the inauguration and mentioned that the “development of renewable energy is well planned in the Canary Islands balancing ecological and economic principles” and thanked “Gamesa Solar for choosing the island of La Palma and its new plant at El Paso that is perfectly executed and integrated in the community and the landscape”.

Gamesa Solar and 9REN Group
Founded in 2001 by Gamesa Solar Corporación Tecnólogica, Gamesa Solar is one of Spain’s leading suppliers of solar energy plants and covers the full spectrum of services from design, planning, development and construction of turnkey PV solar energy plants. With more than 93 MW of photovoltaic installations, Gamesa Solar has over 150 clients and 160,000 m2 of solar plants.

In April 2008, Gamesa Solar and the Italian company Ener3 were acquired by First Reserve Corporation, the leading US private equity firm specializing in the energy industry.

The newly constituted multinational group, known as 9REN, forecasts investments of over €600 million over the next four years and will undertake turnkey projects in the Mediterranean market. The vision of the multinational group is one of continuous growth supported by its reputation as a leader in the sector and an optimum investment opportunity.

With its focus on the Mediterranean solar power market, Gamesa Solar is currently installing two solar PV plants in the South of Italy with capacity to generate 1.7 MW.

For further information
Luca Comunicación Corporativa
Ayala 4, 7º izda. 28001 Madrid
Tel. +34 914 351 712
Carlos García Conde / Miguel Fernandez
e-mail: cgconde@lucacom.com / mfernandez@lucacom.com