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Leeds, March 21, 2006 - Gaz de France ESS, a 100% UK subsidiary of Gaz de France, has just entered into a 10 year agreement with wind energy company, Falck Renewables Ltd, to purchase the entire output from its Earlsburn wind farm that will be fully operational by the beginning of 2007.
Construction of the Earlsburn wind farm is beginning in March of this year. When completed, it will consist of 15 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 35 MW and expected output of approximately 100 – 120 GWh of green electricity per year. The site is located in the Campsie Hills, near the Scottish city of Stirling.
By producing power from wind, instead of fossil fuels, Earlsburn will provide enough green energy to supply the equivalent of 25,000 homes and will reduce CO2 emissions by 100,000 tonnes per year.
With this move, Gaz de France ESS reinforces its commitment to renewable energy development, and strengthens its role as a significant electricity supplier in the UK.
Eric Stab, Managing Director, Gaz de France ESS, stated, ‘We are extremely pleased to make such a deal with a leading developer in renewable energy as it will strengthen our green electricity offer to UK business customers. This contract will also assist our development in Scotland and help us to fulfil our Renewables Obligation1 in the UK'.
William Heller, Managing Director, Falck Renewables Ltd, said, ‘The Earlsburn Project demonstrates the success of our strategy to develop wind farms in cooperation with the local community, and is an important milestone in our long term plans to build and own wind energy capacity in the UK. We are delighted to be working with Gaz de France on this exciting project'.
Notes to the editors
Falck Renewables Ltd is a leading European developer of wind projects and a subsidiary of the Falck Group based in Milan. The Company has 160 MW of assets in operation or construction in the UK and Spain, including one of the UK's largest onshore wind farms: Cefn Croes. It also has a substantial number of wind farms in development in the UK, Spain, Italy and France. For more information, please visit www.falckrenewables.co.uk.
Gaz de France ESS is Gaz de France's gas and electricity supply and electricity generation subsidiary in the UK. It has operated since 1999 and has become a major energy supplier to the UK Industrial and Commercial sector. For more information, please visit www.gazdefrance-ess.co.uk.
1 The Renewables Obligation (RO) was introduced on 1st April 2002 in the UK. It places an obligation on all licensed electricity suppliers to produce evidence that they have sourced a specified proportion of their electricity supplies from renewable energy sources.
Gaz de France press contact: Gaz de France ESS press contact:
Pénélope Linage Kate McNulty
Ph: +33 1 47 54 24 35 – Fax: +33 1 47 54 74 42 Ph: +44 (0)113 3062077 penelope.linage@gazdefrance.com kate.mcnulty@gazdefranceenergy.co.uk
Falck Renewables Ltd press contact:
Julian Horn
Ph: +44 (0)207 486 5428
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2007 Registration document
2007 Sustainable Development Report
Gaz de France and Sustainable Development in 2007
Communication on progress 2006