EANS-News: German Pellets Founds Subsidiary in Italy
11.01.2012 – 14:02
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer/originator is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategic management decisions Wismar (euro adhoc) - German Pellets is strengthening its presence on the Italian market. The newly founded subsidiary German Pellets Italia plans to build and operate combined heat and power (CHP) plants in Northern Italy. "This is a very important step for our company´s further expansion on the European market," said Peter Leibold, managing director of German Pellets GmbH. German Pellets Italia was founded together with an Italian partner. In the coming years, the subsidiary wants to build and operate CHP plants for the production of electricity and heat from wood pellets, primarily in Northern Italy. The framework conditions in Italy are especially good, owing to the adequate feed-in tariffs for electricity from CHP plants. Up to 28 cents per kilowatt-hour are paid for green electricity fed into the national grid. German Pellets will sell the thermal energy to customers in the region. The cogeneration of heat and power will play a major role in the future energy mix. "The technology is highly efficient. In Italy we are following a decentralised model, which makes it possible to produce energy close to where it is used," said Peter Leibold. The small power plants supply 180 kW of electricity and 240 kW of heat. This is enough electricity to power 350 households for one year. The thermal energy produced can meet the yearly heating requirements of approx. 100 households. "With the operation of these CHP plants, we will increase our pellet sales in the long term and secure a broader basis for our growth through the additional sale of green electricity and heat," said German Pellets´ CEO Leibold. Italy has been an important market for the German Pellets Group for many years. Fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, are significantly more expensive here than alternative energies. The renewable energy industry in Italy has an especially high potential for development. Consumer acceptance for wood pellets is high. The country has roughly 1.5 million pellet stoves, and this figure is increasing by about 200,000 every year. The Italian government promotes the use of renewable energies with tax credits, investment grants and feed-in tariffs. About German Pellets German Pellets is Europe´s largest pellet manufacturer. Founded in 2005 in Wismar, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the German Pellets Group now has approx. 400 employees and controlls 14 manufacturing sites, where it produces an environmentally friendly and carbon-neutral fuel from renewable resources. In addition German Pellets produces green electricity from wood in biomass CHP plants at four production sites. Through a subsidiary German Pellets builds and operates wood-pellet heating systems as an energy contractor. In the past financial year, the Group had a turnover of approx. 300 million euros. Further inquiry note: Claudia Röhr Tel.: 03841 30306412 E-Mail: claudia.roehr@german-pellets.de end of announcement euro adhoc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- company: German Pellets GmbH Am Torney 2a D-23970 Wismar phone: +49 (0) 3841 30 30 6 0 FAX: +49 (0) 3841 - 30 30 6 91 00 WWW: http://www.german-pellets.de sector: Energy ISIN: DE000A1H3J67 indexes: stockmarkets: Open Market: Frankfurt, free trade/Bondm: Stuttgart language: English