October 30, 2009

Terra Mundus Sueddeutschland GmbH has succeeded in launching the large-scale photovoltaic plant, project “Koeching II”, a 5.67 MW free standing renewable energy plant in the municipality of Aldersbach in Lower Bavaria.

Ground Breaking Ceremony on October 27th, in Aldersbach (f.l.): Mario Fuchs Sparkasse Deggendorf, Steffen Kammerer Terra Mundus, Hubert Lerch Ingenieurgesellschaft, Anton Schweiger Solea AG, Franz Schwarz Mayor in Aldersbach, Karl Obermeier Mayor in Aidenbach, Rollie Armstrong Terra Mundus and Freiherr Georg von Aretin

The plant, which is now under construction, is being built on a 15 hectare parcel by the general contractor Solea AG and will be grid connected by the end of 2009. The communities Aldersbach and Aidenbach have led the way with respect to their support for sustainable energy from solar resources.

In contrast to waning support of renewable energy projects witnessed in various local communities in Passau County, local stakeholders were enthusiastic among their promotion of the development and operating concept presented by Terra Mundus Sueddeutschland. As a result, Terra Mundus has celebrated its ground breaking ceremony this week.

Not only will the scale of construction site be an exciting undertaking, but the eight kilometer right-of-way required to locate the next sufficient grid connection point was a colossal development exercise. To obtain all development rights and authorizations Terra Mundus relied on the assistance of local net operator E.ON Bayern, the legal services of Bird & Bird, the co-development and professional services of COPEX Investment Partners and the development services of the engineering company Hubert Lerch mbH.

Terra Mundus mandated general contractor Solea to manage all planning and construction. Operating status and grid-connection will be consumated in December of 2009. Terra Mundus will apply Solea’s SM 175 mono crystalline solar module.

The 5.67 MW plant will require 32,400 solar panels, which will be mounted on PV-Eiwa Systemtechnik’s fixed tilt-frame system. This particular mounting system uses steal ground-screw foundations rather than concrete foundations and exerts minimal land impact while offering the most time efficient installation process available.

The completed plant will use 15 Solarmax 330C central inverters manufactured by Swiss firm Sputnik Engineering.

When completed, the Koeching II PV plant will generate 5,900 megawatt hours of electricity per year, enough to supply annual electricity demands for 4,350 people. The solar power plant will reduce 5,700 tons of environmentally detrimental CO2 emissions annually.

COPEX Investment Partners advised, structured and executed the unique long-term operating and project financing concept. The realization of this institutional scale project was supported by a syndicate of senior lenders led by local partner Sparkasse Deggendorf, who introduced the Deutsche Kreditbank in Berlin to the project. Now that involved project partners have successfully completed an exciting and challenging project development phase all local stakeholders and Terra Mundus can enjoy the long-term and sustainable returns to the environment and to their investment.

To realize project success, communities require more than just strong support policy at the national level; they require municipal leaders and dedicated professionals that have the courage and skill-set to execute. With Koeching II, Lower Bavaria continues to set the stage for successful implementation of EU renewable energy directives.

Further details about: Terra Mundus Sueddeutschland GmbH, Solea, Sputnik Engineering