T-Power signs Gas Tolling Agreement with Essent Trading

Geneva and Brussels, 14 August 2008 - T-Power signed yesterday a tolling agreement with Essent Trading for the entire 420 MW capacity from its proposed CCGT plant at Tessenderlo, Belgium. The tolling agreement will run over a period of 15 years with an optional 5-year extension thereafter. T-Power N.V. is a joint venture project company owned equally by Swiss developer Advanced Power AG, Siemens Project Ventures GmbH and Tessenderlo Chemie N.V.

Signing the tolling agreement provides the T-Power project with a strong foundation for its non-recourse debt financing process, for which T-Power released its Preliminary Information Memorandum to selected potential lenders on 6 August 2008.

The gas-fired power plant will use state-of-the-art environmentally friendly combined cycle gas turbine technology from Siemens Power Generation AG. Upon its expected start of commercial operations in 2011, T-Power will be one of the most energy efficient power stations in Europe. 

Paymon Aliabadi, CEO of Essent Trading said: 'This transaction provides Essent with an important strategic position in the Belgium power market. The T-Power tolling contract further extends our commitment to develop our competitive and flexible generation portfolio in support of our market activities in Belgium. The opportunity to be on site at Tessenderlo Chemie also provides us with the platform for a longterm cooperation in the Belgian market. T-Power will allow Essent to continue to build on its successful track record of providing customer choice and competitive product offerings to our Belgium customers and industrial clients.'

About Essent

Essent N.V. (www.essent.eu) is the largest energy company in the Netherlands with approximately 11,000 employees, more than 5500 MW of diverse generation portfolio and over 2.6 million customers across the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Essent is ranked among Europe's leading companies in renewable and sustainable energy generation. Essent Belgium, has been active on the Belgian energy market since 2001 as an officially authorised supplier of electricity and natural gas in the three Belgian regions (Flanders, the Walloon provinces and Brussels).
Essent Trading, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland is a prestigious asset-backed merchant energy trading house with its roots in the Netherlands. Essent Trading is recognized as a market leader in energy trading in Europe and has been voted as a top tier trading house by Risk Magazine since 2004.

About T-Power

T-Power NV is a joint venture to develop, build and operate a CCGT power plant within Tessenderlo Chemie’s industrial chemical facility in Tessenderlo, Belgium. Partners of the project are Tessenderlo Chemie NV, Siemens Project Ventures GmbH and Advanced Power AG.

Tessenderlo Chemie NV is a part of Tessenderlo Group and one of Belgium’s leading chemical companies, with over 105 branches in 21 countries. Tessenderlo Group has around 8,100 staff, with 2,100 located in Belgium and is listed on Euronext Brussels, and is part of Next 150, NextPrime and BEL Mid. Its administrative headquarters are in Brussels.

Advanced Power AG develops, finances and invests in independent power generation projects in Europe. Incorporated in 2000 in Zug, Switzerland, the company provides the comprehensive expertise required for developing large-scale power generation and related infrastructure projects. Advanced Power’s management has been responsible for developing and financing over 9,000 MW of power-generation projects in Europe.

Siemens Project Ventures GmbH (SPV) is a Group company of Siemens Financial Services. Together with renowned partners, SPV has with equity capital contributions been involved worldwide in the development of infrastructure projects, particularly in the energy, transport and telecommunication sectors. SPV has already participated in the development of 10 international power plant projects with an overall capacity of more than 6,600 MW as well as in three telecommunication projects and an airport, with a cumulative project volume of 7 billion USD.

About Siemens Financial Services

Siemens Financial Services (SFS) is an international provider of financial solutions in the business-to-business area. With about 1,900 employees and an international network of financial companies coordinated by Siemens Financial Services GmbH, Munich, we support Siemens as well as non-affiliated companies, focusing on the three sectors of energy, industry and healthcare. We finance infrastructure, equipment and working capital and act as a competent manager of financial risks within Siemens. By leveraging our financing expertise and our industrial know-how we create value for our customers and help them strengthen their competitiveness. For more information see: www.siemens.com/finance.