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Consortium NORTHWESTER applied for offshore wind concession to CREG
Zaventem - The consortium Northwester, consisting of Econcern's operating company Evelop together with Blue H TTR (consisting of Transcor Astra Group - a subsidiary of NPM/CNP -, TPF Group, Wagram Invest and Blue H Technologies) has applied for a public property concession license for the largest offshore wind farm project (600 MW) in the North Sea. The project is located in the furthest available zone lying north of Bligh Bank and reaches depths ranging from 30 to 45 metres.

The consortium will depend upon the technological experience of Econcern and Blue H Technologies. Econcern is currently developing the largest number of offshore wind farms in Europe. The company with its mission ‘a sustainable energy supply for everyone' has proven its expertise by developing, constructing and operating projects such as the Offshore Wind Farm ‘Prinses Amalia Windpark' of 60 turbines, located 20 km off the Dutch coast with a capacity of 120 MW and Belwind, located right next to the proposed Northwester site. Initial construction for Belwind is planned in 2009.

Blue H Technologies has developed the innovative technology for floating wind turbines. This development is ground breaking in the field and is well ahead of the competition. Its floating platforms for wind turbines have been adapted from the deepwater platform technology that has emerged from the oil and gas drilling industry over the last 25 years.

The consortium is planning to use this innovative technology in the deepest areas of the site which is roughly 60% of the zone. A floating wind turbine costs less than a conventional fixed installation in terms of both initial investment and operating costs. For a conventional offshore turbine, the actual foundation work currently makes up for half the total cost. So this commitment to use innovative technology will mean that the deep seas can be opened up for generating electricity commercially.

Frank Coenen, managing director of Evelop Belgium NV, commented that "the construction of the first wind turbines could begin as early as 2013. Our team of strong partners will ensure the project's long-term success."

Michel Helbig de Balzac, Chairman of Northwester, added that "the high-tech expertise of Evelop and Blue H is going to further boost state-of-the art technology in Belgium."

Who are Northwester's shareholders?

Evelop (www.evelop.com)

Evelop, part of Econcern, develops projects focussing on sustainable energy sources, and it has one of the world's largest portfolios of renewable energy assets. Econcern, with its mission ‘a sustainable energy supply for everyone' employs over 1,200 professionals in 21 countries and has won the European Business of the Year 2008 award.  Evelop is involved in developing, realising and operating projects in areas that include offshore and onshore wind, biomass, solar energy, and seawater air conditioning, and it also constructs utility buildings and housing with integrated solutions for sustainable energy supplies.

Blue H Technologies (www.bluehgroup.com)

Blue H Technologies BV (Blue H) is a  technology company set up to develop offshore, deepwater wind farms that are far enough from the coast to benefit from stronger and more regular winds. That means that Blue H directly addresses the fundamental concern of the wind energy industry today, namely the need to deploy increasingly large turbines. Blue H's mission is to become the leading developer of deepwater offshore wind farms around the world, based on its own patented technology. Blue H pursues three interrelated objectives: 1) developing technology for deepwater offshore wind energy production; 2) developing deepwater offshore wind farms using its own technology; 3) being a co-supplier of the finished working units and supervising the construction and installation of the wind farms using its own technology.

Transcor Astra Group (www.transcorastragroup.com)

TRANSCOR ASTRA GROUP trades and distributes petroleum products, natural gas, coal and coke, leasing pipelines as well as storage, refining and shipping facilities. It also invests in and develops alternative energy projects (renewable energy, CBM, CMM).

TTR

TTR, set up at the beginning of 2008, is a joint venture equally shared by TPF Group and NMP/CNP acting through its subsidiary Transcor Astra Group. It was created to allow them to jointly develop projects in the alternative energy sector. It mainly operates in the fields of onshore and offshore wind turbines, biomass energy, and hydroelectricity. Various research projects have been identified in the European countries where TTR's shareholders are actively based, namely Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal.

TPF Group (www.tpf.eu)

TPF is a Belgian-owned consultancy with one thousand employees, three hundred of whom work in Belgium, while the remaining seven hundred are spread over seven European countries and India. Its operations mainly focus on construction, infrastructure, water, energy, and industry. The refurbishment of the Hotel Bristol in Paris and the Kopernik building at Varsovia, Poland, are among its better-known projects. TPF has carried out various projects in co-generation, biomass energy, and electricity including the construction of a wind farm in Kenya.

Wagram Invest (www.wagram-invest.com)

WAGRAM INVEST invests in companies run with new technologies (Spacebell, Voice-Insight...). It plays a particularly active role in the ICT and renewable energy sectors. Wagram Invest has extensive experience in managing development projects for onshore wind farms in Belgium, as well as in R&D project coordination in Europe.


Note for the editor:

For more information, please contact:

Northwester / Econcern :

Frank Coenen, Managing Director Evelop Belgium NV

Tel. +32 (0) 2. 725.39.20

Portable: +32 (0) 478.90.63.32

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Northwester / Blue H TTR :

Michel Helbig de Balzac, Chairman of the Board of Directors

Tel. +32 (0) 10. 48.50.20

Portable: +32 (0) 475. 25.33.33

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