ENEL AND COLDIRETTI FOR GREEN ENERGY FROM ITALIAN FIELDS

Agreement signed for a major collaboration to develop agro-energy projects.
Enel Green Power and Consorzi Agrari d’Italia (CAI) sign an agreement to develop biomass plants in Italy through the creation of a dedicated joint venture.

Rome, December 7th, 2010 - Fulvio Conti, Enel CEO and General Manager, and Sergio Marini, President of Coldiretti, have signed a protocol of understanding to collaborate on agro-energy projects for the generation of electricity from renewable resources, in particular biogas and solid biomass from agricultural sources.

This collaborative effort will leverage sustainable approaches to production – sourced through sector agreements –and promote innovative technologies, with major positive spillovers for local economies, including specific research projects.

More specifically, Enel Green Power (for the Enel Group) and Consorzi Agrari Italiani (for Coldiretti) will jointly develop projects to promote the development of local agro-energy initiatives, using distributed power generation from biomass to support the emergence of agro-energy districts.

To this end, the new joint venture (owned 51% by Enel Green Power and 49% by CAI) that will be established, will be mainly devoted to the promotion and implementation of projects for generating electricity from domestic solid biomass and that may also develop projects for placing roof-top and ground-based photovoltaic systems on Consorzi Agrari member properties.

Individual biomass projects will be developed through dedicated project companies, owned entirely by the new joint venture.

The partners will pursue the initiatives by selecting the most appropriate value chains, placing them in the best geographical area for the development and integration with local economies, by leveraging Enel Green Power’s globally-recognized technological leadership in the renewables sector and CAI’s ability to structure sector agreements to supply biomass.

Fulvio Conti, Enel CEO and Managing Director said: "We are pleased today to initiate a new business model in renewables that combines the environmental benefits of biomass plants - a renewable source with a high development potential for Enel Green Power - with positive impacts on local farming. This agreement is part of a collaborative program to make the development of biomass a more efficient and sustainable national chain.”

“The agreement marks another step forward in our plan for an entirely Italian supply chain that extends to the energy sector with a practical demonstration of the enormous contribution that Italian agricultural firms can make to the growth of our country through environmental and occupational sustainability,” said the President of Coldiretti Sergio Marini.

“Developing the short chain, i.e. local biomass,” said Francesco Starace, CEO and General Manager of EGP, “means enhancing the area where the plant is located, supporting the necessary differentiation towards crops of greater value for energy generation, and therefore contributing to the development of the industry. With CAI, we will have the opportunity to adequately develop this renewable source that offers a common ground between the worlds of agriculture and energy.”

“We are pursuing the goal of building Italian supply chains in the energy sector,” says Pierluigi Guarise, Chairman of CAI’s Management Board, “in order to concretely demonstrate the desire to provide effective support for Italian agriculture. Consorzi Agrari d’Italia’s participation helps serve to guarantee a balanced distribution of plants in different areas and to make sure that biomasses—starting with the by-products of primary crops—are put to good use”.