Solar Millennium involves Citigroup and Deutsche Bank in financing US power plant projects

• Planned financing of more than EUR 4 bn (USD 6 bn) in the next few years;
• Citigroup and Deutsche Bank have been named as advisors for structuring and securing project financing;
• Cooperation with two leading global banks is an important factor for the success of the planned realization of Solar Millennium's first solar thermal power plants in the US starting in 2010.

Erlangen/Berkeley, California/Cleveland, Ohio, 21 October 2009  Via its US subsidiary Solar Trust of America, LLC, Solar Millennium AG, Erlangen, (ISIN DE0007218406) has engaged Citigroup and Deutsche Bank to provide advisory services to structure and secure financing for several planned solar thermal power plants across the southwestern US. Each power plant has an expected financing volume of more than one billion US dollar. Together with Solar Trust of America, the mandated banks are structuring the debt and equity financing and provide support in securing subsidies and loan guarantees granted by the Department of Energy within President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program.

Thomas Mayer, CFO of Solar Millennium: "The fact that these two globally renowned banks are involved in financing our projects is an important factor of success in their implementation. We have thus moved one step closer to their realization. The next task is to attempt integrating government subsidies and guarantees in the financing structure." Uwe T. Schmidt, CEO of Solar Trust of America, adds: "Our aim is to become solar energy market leader in the US and to start realizing the first solar power plants in California and Nevada as early as at the end of 2010. In doing so, we will also be helping these states to meet their renewable energy mandates. At the same time, we will stimulate the regional economy by creating thousands of new jobs in the construction and operation of these solar power plants".

Regarding the advisory mandate by Solar Millennium Group, Simon Wilske, Co-Head Corporate Finance Group, Citigroup, said, "Solar Millennium is one of the leading technological partners in the area of solar thermal power plants, which in turn is one of the most promising segments in the global market for renewable energies. As a longstanding advisor of Solar Millennium and one of the leading banks in this sector, Citigroup is pleased to support Solar Millennium with these significant projects in the US."

Dr. Thomas Rüschen, Global Head Asset Finance & Leasing, Deutsche Bank, pointed out the strategic importance of solar energy for his institution, "Deutsche Bank is pleased to be an advisor to Solar Trust of America and its shareholders in the growth market of Renewable Energies in the US. The financing and advisory of the solar sector is one of our core businesses. Deutsche Bank also collaborated with Solar Millennium Group on the Desertec Industrial Initiative to ensure a sustainable supply of electricity for future generations."

In implementing the projects, Solar Trust of America, can avail itself of the Solar Millennium Group's extensive expertise in the development, financing and technology of solar thermal power plants and MAN Ferrostaal AG's experience in the design, turn-key construction and operation of major industrial plants. The US plants will also feature the proven and efficient parabolic trough technology of Flagsol GmbH, the technology subsidiary within the Solar Millennium Group.

The Solar Millennium Group already has power purchase agreements (PPA) in place with the Californian utility Southern California Edison (SCE) for two parabolic trough power plants of 242 megawatts each with an option to include a third. The projects, located in Ridgecrest, Palen and Blythe, are in an advanced stage of development. The Group has also concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with Nevada Energy, the utility supplying Las Vegas and other major cities in Nevada and California, for the development of at least one solar thermal power plant in the Amargosa desert (Nevada).

About Solar Millennium AG
Solar Millennium AG, Erlangen, is an international company in the renewable energy sector, with its main emphasis on solar-thermal power plants. Together with its subsidiaries, the company specializes in parabolic trough power plants, a proven and reliable technology with which the Group has adopted a leading position worldwide. Solar Millennium covers all important business sectors along the value chain for solar-thermal power plants - from project development and technology to turn-key construction as well as plant operation and investments in power plants. In Spain, Solar Millennium developed Europe's first parabolic trough power plants and realized them with its partners. Additional projects are planned around the world with an overall capacity of more than 2,000 megawatts. The current regional focus is on Spain, the US, China and North Africa. Furthermore, the company has the aim of achieving market readiness for the so-called Blue Tower technology for the generation of product gas that is rich in hydrogen through the reformation of regenerative residual materials, and also for solar chimney power plants in the long run.

About Solar Trust of America, LLC
Solar Trust of America, LLC is an integrated industrial solutions company of solar thermal power plants with its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. The Company is a joint venture of the Solar Millennium Group (70%) and the MAN Ferrostaal Group (30%) and covers the entire value chain for solar thermal power plants in the region of North America. This includes the business segments of project development and financing, engineering, turn-key construction and operation of power plants. The American project development company Solar Millennium LLC, headquartered in Berkeley (California), is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Solar Trust of America.

About solar-thermal power plant technology
Solar-thermal power plants generate electricity by converting solar radiation into heat energy. In a parabolic trough power plant, trough-shaped mirrors concentrate the incidental radiation onto a pipe in the focal line of the collector. Its absorption heats a fluid heat medium in the pipe, generating steam in the power block through a heat exchanger. As in conventional power plants, the steam powers a turbine to generate electricity. By integrating thermal storage, electricity can be supplied on demand, even after sunset.

You can download the press release here.