Falck Renewables Plc (Falck Group) inaugurated on 11 June the Minervino Murge wind farm, which consists of 26 wind turbines supplied by Nordex, with a total capacity of 52 MW.

It is the Group’s first wind farm entering into operation in Italy and is part of an important program to develop, finance, construct and manage wind farms that commenced in 2002 and that today brings the Group to a total of more than 350 MW installed wind capacity across Europe: in Italy, France, Spain, Scotland, Wales, with a target of 1,000 MW in total.

“This is a project – stated Federico Falck, Group Chairman – that is based on continuous dialogue with the local communities and a strong attention for the environment”. The inauguration of the wind farm was attended by Luigi Roccotelli, the mayor of Minervino Murge and Fabio Modesti, Managing Director of the Alta Murgia National Park, who commented on the construction of the wind farm, thus confirming the close collaboration with the local community.

The Minervino Murge wind farm will generate approximately 100 GWh per annum of renewable energy, satisfying the electricity requirements of around 40,000 families and resulting in savings of approximately 52,000 tons/year of CO2, one of the main causes of global warming.

With regard to the environmental, the plant has been certified for environmental management under ISO 14001 and is one of the first in Italy to have started the process to obtain the EMAS registration. This will be an important recognition, awarded by a committee composed of the Ministers for the Environment, Industry, Health and Treasury, the aim of which is to achieve continuous improvements in environmental performance.

The wind farm required an investment of Euro 114.4 million that was financed through non-recourse project financing negotiated with a pool of leading financial institutions including Banca Infrastrutture Innovazione e Sviluppo, Société Générale and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.

“The financing was secured at the end of 2008 and confirms that – Federico Falck stated – solid projects promoted and developed by reputable sponsors continue to be attractive for the lending institutions, even when loan finance is scarce and competition for credit is high. It is vital that projects of new renewable energy infrastructures like wind farms receive the attention and support of the financing institutions, in order to ensure the supply of clean, environmentally friendly, emissions-free energy to our Country”