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Deutsche Bank solar assets acquired
Etrion Signs Agreement to Acquire Deutsche Bank Solar Assets in Italy Etrion Corporation, a Canadian energy company, has signed a definitive sale and purchase agreement to acquire a portfolio of Deutsche Bank solar assets in Italy for 10.3 million Euros plus a contingent deferred payment of 1.5 million Euros. The Deutsche Bank assets being acquired include 6 megawatts (“MW”) of operating assets and 10 MW of permitted projects ready for construction in the Puglia region plus a pipeline of more than 150 MW in various stages of permitting.
The operating assets consist of 6 MW of ground-based solar photovoltaic (“PV”) plants, producing over 10,250 kilowatt hours (“kWh”) of electricity and approximately 4 million Euros of cash flow (EBITDA) per year. These plants benefit from the 2009 feed-in-tariff of 0.353 Euros per kWh plus a spot rate of approximately 0.08 Euros per kWh. The Italian feed-in-tariff is a premium purchase price for renewable electricity that is guaranteed by the Italian government for 20 years. The operating plants also benefit from an existing facility agreement with Societe Generale and Dexia for up to 45 million Euros available on the basis of 90:10 debt-to-equity, of which 28 million Euros have been drawn to date.
Marco Northland, the Company’s CEO, commented, “This acquisition represents an important leap forward for Etrion. We are acquiring a combination of operating assets with immediate revenue, projects for construction in 2010, a pipeline for 2011 and relationships with highly qualified local developers. We look forward to building out the Italian pipeline that Deutsche Bank developed over several years.”
The acquisition of the Deutsche Bank assets is scheduled to close by April 30, 2010, and is subject to typical closing conditions. The Company intends to fund the acquisition through a combination of cash on hand and a bridge loan from its major shareholder, Lundin Petroleum. The bridge loan carries interest at LIBOR plus 3%.
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Top scientists for Millennium Award
Semiconductor and solar experts vie for top prize Three scientists have been shortlisted for the 2010 Millennium Technology Prize, the world’s largest award for technological innovation. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Helsinki, Finland on 9 June 2010. The laureates announced in Helsinki today by Technology Academy Finland are:
Professor Sir Richard Friend, Cavendish Professor of Physics, University of Cambridge, UK. Professor Friend’s work in plastic electronics has revolutionized the field of optoelectronics, with far- reaching consequences for energy efficient applications in display devices, lighting, sensing and solar energy harvesting. His initial innovation included producing organic light emitting diodes and his use of polymers as solution processed semiconductors has enabled products such as electronic paper, cheap organic solar cells and illuminating wall papers.
Professor Stephen Furber, Professor of Computer Engineering, the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Professor Furber is the principal designer of the ARM 32 bit RISC microprocessor, found in most handheld electronic devices and in more than 98 % of the world’s mobile phones. The development of the fast, energy efficient 32 bit processor 25 years ago unlocked the world of consumer electronics and to date, more than 18 billion ARM-based chips have been manufactured for use in ubiquitous computing applications, such as mobile phones, digital photography and video, music players, fixed and wireless networking, automobiles and health care, benefiting hundreds of millions worldwide.
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