Wärtsilä Oyj : Wärtsilä leads Italian liquid biofuels power market

A number of recent orders and ongoing projects has consolidated Wärtsilä's dominance of the Italian market for power generation from liquid biofuels (LBF). Orders received in the first five months of 2007 alone totalled close to 280 MW, of which 172 MW were received in the first 3 months.

Wärtsilä currently has about 620 MW of LBF power plants either in operation, under construction or on order in Italy - the most recent orders being a 52 MW plant for CEG in April this year and an 8 MW plant for Ricciarelli in Molfetta in May. Both projects will be commissioned in spring 2008.

'Power generation from LBF is becoming a significant market for us. We are expecting to receive significant orders during this and next year,' says Christoph Vitzthum, Group Vice President, Wärtsilä Power Plants,

'We also believe that some other countries in Europe will follow. There are 'green licences or subsidies' issued to a number of companies in the Netherlands and Belgium. We are working on several projects and a few of them are at an advanced stage,' Christoph Vitzthum continues.

Projects received during the last few years

The most recent orders follow a string of contracts in Italy dating back to 2004 when two Wärtsilä 32 generating sets were delivered to ItalGreen Energy's combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Monopoli, with a third engine going on line in 2005, increasing the baseload power output to 24 MW.

In May 2006, following the success of the installation at Monopoli, ItalGreen Energy, the energy company of the Casa Olearia Italiana Group, ordered a 100 MW plant. When fully commissioned later this year, ItalGreen II will be the largest LBF power plant in the world.

Other contracts concluded in 2006 included a 75 MW LBF power plant for an independent power producer, Fri-El Acerra Srl and a 50 MW plant in Conselice for the food processing company Unigrà. Both of these projects are scheduled to come on line this year.

Under Italian law, all power producers and importers are required to supply around 3 percent of their power to the grid from renewable sources or they must buy green certificates to make up the shortfall.

For further information please contact Ms Eeva Kainulainen, VP Corporate Communications, tel. +358 40 568 0591.

Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of more than 14,000 professionals manning 130 Wärtsilä locations in close to 70 countries around the world.

www.wartsila.com