CWP TO BUILD TWO MORE WIND FARMS IN ROMANIA

• The company is developing in Romania the largest wind farm in Europe which will generate renewable energy

• The cost of the project exceeds 1 billion Euros, being the largest foreign investment in Romania

American company "Continental Wind Partners" (CWP), the developer and administrator of the largest European wind park, located on the Romanian shore of the Black Sea, will build two more parks of the same type in Romania, as stated by Mike Scholey, CEO of CWP: "We intend to complete the projects for two other major wind parks in Romania and to begin their construction in the next two years".

CWP is currently launching new turbines of the wind park of Fântânele, which is already generating renewable electricity.

The wind farm of the county of Constanţa, which was developed in two stages, in Fântânele and Cogealac, will be the biggest investment of its type of all Europe, including 240 turbines, which will generate 600 MW, according to CWP. Construction began at the end of 2008. The project has a total cost of 1.1 billion Euros, representing the largest direct foreign investment in Romania.

Located approximately 50 km away from the town of Constanţa, the wind park of Fântânele is connected to the national electricity grid managed by "Transelectrica". Five wind turbines are already generating electricity, with others scheduled to go online over the next months. Out of the total of 139 turbines of Fântânele, 114 are already installed. According to CEZ, in the nearby location of Cogealac, a number of 101 turbines will be built.

Just two weeks after delivering its first MW to the national grid, the CEZ Wind Park has exceeded 14 MW, which is the total figure of the wind power installed capacity of Romania. According to data provided by CEZ, the new wind park has already reached an average hourly output in excess of 20 MW/h.

The commissioning of the turbines of the CEZ Wind Park - which is expected to take several months - began approximately two weeks ago in Fântânele, county of Constanţa. The electricity output of the park delivered to the national system is expected to reach 347.5 MW, once the 139 turbines which are part of the first stage of the project become operational.

The turbines which are connected by the teams of General Electric (GE) are then tested individually, while they are used to generate energy. The testing and commissioning operations are done in cooperation with the National Energy Dispatch (DEN).

"The commissioning of this project brought Romania closer to the standards of the European Union", said Mark Crandall, the chairman of the CWP, who added: "It is also a vote of confidence for the local investment climate".

Energy company CEZ has ensured the financing of the project, whereas the assistance in construction and the equipment were supplied by "EnergoBit", "Viarom", "GE Wind Energy", "Areva" and "Emon". The Romanian partner, "Monsson Alma", collaborated with CWP on the development and administration of the project.

The wind farm in Fântânele is the first wind farm of such size located in Romania, with an output capacity equivalent to the energy needs of 700,000 households. The project has generated approximately 500 new jobs directly and other jobs in ancillary businesses and it will improve the working conditions of the local communities.

CWP will continue commissioning new units in the Fântânele project and will manage the construction of the wind park of Cogealac - the second stage of this project. "We are impatiently waiting to complete the Cogealac project together with our partners, within the next 24 months" said Mike Scholey, CEO of CWP.

CWP is currently developing projects with an installed capacity of more than 6 GW, in countries such as Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Australia and New Zealand.