Solar Millennium AG begins construction of Andasol 3 Solar Power Plant

• Third Spanish power plant project by Solar Millennium will generate electricity for up to 200.000 people
• MAN Solar Millennium and Flagsol manage power plant construction and technology
• Solar Millennium carries out all important value creating phases of solar-thermal power plants for the first time

Erlangen, 04.08.2008 Solar Millennium AG (ISIN 0007218406) is beginning construction of the Andasol 3 parabolic trough power plant in southern Spain. To do this, Solar Millennium has placed an order through its subsidiary Marquesado Solar S.L. - the project company of Andasol 3 - with a joint venture to carry out the early works. The joint venture is formed by the joint forces of MAN Solar Millennium GmbH, Essen, and the Spanish construction company Duro Felguera S.A. Energía, Gijón (Spain). The joint venture lead by MAN Solar Millennium is to build the solar power plant turn-key until February 2011. Flagsol GmbH, Solar Millennium's technology subsidiary based in Cologne, is responsible for the technological design of the solar field.

The Andasol 3 parabolic trough power plant is situated next to its two similarly constructed sister projects, Andasol 1 and 2, which are the first parabolic trough power plants in Europe, located in Andalusia, southern Spain. The plant will supply up to 200,000 people with solar power. Parabolic mirrors with a collector area of about 500,000 square meters, an area as large as 70 soccer pitches, concentrate the suns rays, generating heat energy which is then used to generate electricity through the use of a steam turbine. Thermal storage makes plannable energy generation possible, so that environmentally-friendly electricity can be fed into the Spanish power grid also at night. All three Andasol projects were developed by Solar Millennium. They represent the largest location in the world utilizing solar energy.

This is the first time that MAN Solar Millennium - a joint venture company formed in May 2007 by MAN Ferrostaal and Solar Millennium - is the general contractor of a solar thermal power plant. Using the joint venture company, Solar Millennium is expanding its business operations to include power plant construction. Important key components for the project have already been ordered. The absorber tubes are being supplied by Schott Solarthermie GmbH, Mainz. Rioglass Solar S.A., Mieres/ Asturias (Spain) are producing the parabolic mirrors. MAN Turbo AG, Oberhausen, is to supply an enhanced 50 megawatt turbine which features an especially high level of efficiency.

Solar Millennium expects the financial closure in a few weeks. Simultaneously, Solar Millennium plans to sell part of its shares in the Marquesado Solar project company. Now that Early Works have been contracted out and since preparatory works on the power plant site have already begun in May, a rapid realization of the solar power plant is possible.

Christian Beltle, CEO of Solar Millennium, is pleased about the commencement of the realization: "Andasol 3 is our third project which we have successfully developed in Spain and on which construction is now commencing. With the realization of this solar power plant, Solar Millennium has also reached a milestone in its corporate development: For the first time, we are covering all important phases of the value chain of solar thermal power plants, from project development and project financing to technology and power plant construction, ending in power plant ownership. As a result, we are also in a very good position to open up further markets."