Essent Trading and China Datang Corporation conclude first CDM Gold Standard Project in China

Arnhem, 21 January 2008 - Geneva based Essent Trading (the trading arm of Essent N.V., the leading Dutch energy company) and China Datang Corporation (one of China's top five power companies) have finalised an agreement in which Essent will purchase Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) from a 49.5MW wind project in Fujian province of China built by Datang. The project is the first Gold Standard CDM project to be approved in China. Essent will purchase approximately 450,000 CERs over a period of five years from the start of 2008 from the project, which was approved by the UNFCCC on the 20 January 2008.

Nyame de Groot, Vice President Emissions of Essent Trading: 'As a market leader in renewable and sustainable energy generation in the Netherlands and Europe we are very happy to support initiatives that contribute directly to the development of renewable energy and the reduction of green house gas emissions.'

Dr. Tang Renhu, head of the CDM business of China Datang Corporation, comments, 'We are proud to have taken the lead in engaging in Gold Standard CDM project development. With the success of having the project approved as China's first Gold Standard CDM project, we expect to add more projects with high environmental integrity into our large portfolio of renewables.'

Michael Schlup, Director of the Gold Standard, remarked, 'The Fujian Wind Farm demonstrates that it is possible to respond to China's growing demand for energy in a sustainable, environmentally conscious way that also benefits the local community. As the first Gold Standard project in China, Essent Trading, Datang Corporation and TFS are leading the creation of a credible and rigorous carbon market in fast emerging economies.'

The transaction was brokered by TFS Energy, the leading CER broker in China and South-East Asia. TFS has offices across the world, including Beijing, and is an active promoter of the Gold Standard.
'We are excited to have brought together two market leading, progressive companies under this contract, and hope it will encourage others to follow their lead, in taking proactive steps towards securing credits with the highest level environmental credibility.' Lucy Mortimer, Global Manager of TFS's CDM & JI Business's.

The Gold Standard is a quality label for CDM (Clean Development Mechanism), JI (Joint Implementation) and voluntary offset projects generating renewable energy, and energy efficiency projects, all with high sustainable development benefits. The Gold Standard is endorsed by over 52 non-governmental organizations worldwide, and Gold Standard projects are preferred by a range of government and private buyers. Initiated by WWF, SSN and Helio International the Gold Standard for CDM projects was launched in 2003, and is endorsed by over 52 non-governmental organizations worldwide.

About Essent Trading
Essent Trading, located in Geneva, Switzerland is a highly prestigious asset backed merchant trading business with its roots in The Netherlands. Essent Trading is recognized as a market leader in energy trading in Continental Europe and voted as a top tier trading house by Risk Magazine since 2004. The parent company of Essent Trading, Essent NV is the largest energy company in The Netherlands with more than 11,000 employees, more than 5,000 MWs of diverse generation portfolio and more than 2.5 million customers across The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Essent is ranked among Europe's leading companies in Renewable and Sustainable energy generation.

About China Datang Corporation
China Datang Corporation is one of the five major power producers in China with an installed capacity of over 60 gigawatts in 2007 and total assets worth 22.66 billion Euros. Datang's diverse emission reduction project portfolio is expected to generate three millions carbon credits annually till the end of 2007. CDM office of CWEME, Datang's subsidiary company, is responsible for developing and managing all of Datang's CDM projects. CDM office of CWEME is a leading CDM consultancy in China's power sector.

About TFS
Tradition Financial Services (TFS) is a market leader in the inter-dealer brokering of OTC physical and derivative products. With offices in the world's major financial centers, the Company covers over 2,200 clients and markets ranging from global foreign exchange, energy and environmental products, commodities, equities, coal, freight, precious metals, property and pulp & paper markets. The TFS CDM & JI business is a market leader in its field, and was awarded Best Broker Kyoto Credits (Runner up) in the Environmental Finance Awards 2007, whilst the group was awarded a total of 14 awards for its services within the environmental markets, the highest number ever to be won by a company in the history of the awards. TFS opened an office in Beijing in 2007 for CDM services.

Published: 22 January 2008