DJ DGAP-Media: Solar Millennium AG: Rainer Aringhoff becomes Managing Director of the international industry initiative Dii
Solar Millennium AG / Energy 12.04.2010 11:11 Dissemination of a Media Release, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.=--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solar Millennium AG: Rainer Aringhoff becomes Managing Director of the
international industry initiative Dii
- Long-time Solar Millennium manager strengthens industry initiative to
enable the roll-out of the DESERTEC concept
- The Solar Millennium Group is one of the twelve founding members of the
Dii
- The designated successor to Aringhoff is James Caldwell, who last
served as Assistant General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power
Erlangen/Munich/Berkeley (California), 12 April 2010
Rainer Aringhoff, one of the long-term managers of the Solar Millennium
Group with 25 years of experience in solar-thermal power plant and project
development, will strengthen the business management of the international
industry initiative Dii GmbH. The initiative was launched in July 2009 as
the 'Desertec Industrial Initiative.' The goal of Dii is to realize the
DESERTEC concept in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EUMENA). This
concept describes the prospects of energy supply for these areas using
solar and wind energy from the deserts. The long-term objective is to
produce a significant portion of the electricity demand of manufacturing
countries and a share of around 15 % of Europe's electricity demand in
2050.
Aringhoff had already been involved with Solar Millennium in the project
development of Europe's first parabolic trough power plants, the Andasol
power plants in southern Spain. Following his studies in economics and
political science, Mr. Aringhoff gained extensive international experience
as a consultant and project developer in and beyond Europe, for example in
Greece, Jordan, Morocco and Spain, as well as for energy master planning
for the Brazilian minister of energy and the Latin American energy agency.
Aringhoff is one of the most profound experts in the market of
solar-thermal power plants.
For many years now, Aringhoff has been involved in the promotion of
solar-thermal power plants and the international cooperation in the market
development of this technology. In 1993 he acted as a co-sponsor of solar
initiatives of the World Bank and the GEF (Global Environment Facility),
each of which provided USD 50 million for the first solar-thermal power
plant projects in emerging markets, namely for parabolic trough solar
fields in Egypt and Morocco. Furthermore, Aringhoff was the co-founder and
European spokesman for the Global Market Initiative for solar-thermal power
plants, GMI. This initiative was supported by UNEP, the GEF, the German
Federal Environment Ministry and the Reconstruction Loan Corporation (KfW)
development bank as well as eight energy ministers of states adjacent to
the Mediterranean Sea. Until 2006, Aringhoff was also the Secretary General
of the European Solar Thermal Industry Association ESTIA, a predecessor of
today's ESTELA, and, since September 2007, spokesman for the Californian
solar industry at RETI (Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative) of the
California Energy Commission.
Together with Josef Eichhammer, President and COO of Solar Trust of America
LLC and CEO of Solar Millennium LLC, Aringhoff last headed the project
development for the Solar Millennium Group in the US. James Caldwell has
been chosen to succeed Aringhoff in his post as Managing Director of Solar
Millennium LLC. Caldwell is a recognized expert of the American energy
sector and has experience in nearly all areas of energy production and
policy. Until recently, he was the Assistant General Manager at the Los
Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the country's largest
municipal utility. At LADWP, he was responsible for Environmental Affairs
including developing plans and policy for transforming the electricity
generation portfolio of the City of Los Angeles from fossil fuels to
renewable resources.
Dr. Henner Gladen, member of the Management Board and founding member of
Solar Millennium AG: 'We have found a profound expert in the American
energy sector in James Caldwell. At the same time, Dii has gained a
distinguished expert in solar-thermal power plants with Rainer Aringhoff,
who comes with diplomatic aptitude and international experience. I am
pleased that he has chosen to take on this challenge and exciting task. As
one of the founding members of Dii, the Solar Millennium Group will always
support Mr. Aringhoff in his new function. Desertec is an important concept
for the future of energy supply and one which we have been supporting for
years. We look forward to now being able to intensively press ahead with
its roll-out together with international partners.'
CEO of Dii is Paul van Son. As COO Aringhoff will be responsible
particularly for planning and conceptual designing the Dii reference
projects. Prof. Klaus Töpfer also provides the initiative with consulting
services for strategic and political issues. As the core objectives of Dii,
technical, economic, political and regulatory conditions are to be
developed, thereby allowing for investments in solar and wind energy
projects as well as in interconnected power grids. Moreover, reference
projects are planned in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the
concept, and a long-term roll-out plan is to be developed that will extend
until 2050 and includes investment and financing recommendations. This
entails plans for an intensive collaboration with other political,
institutional and industrial initiatives with similar goals, for example
the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) the European Union and the Clean
Technology Fund (CTF) of the World Bank.
About Solar Millennium AG:
Solar Millennium AG, Erlangen, is an international company in the renewable
energy sector, with its main focus on solar-thermal power plants. Together
with its subsidiaries and associates, the Company specializes in parabolic
trough power plants and has managed to take a globally leading position in
this field. Solar Millennium strives to further extend its expertise in the
area of solar-thermal power plants with the aim of achieving and securing
sustainable technology leadership. As such, the Company covers all
important business sectors along the value chain for solar-thermal power
plants: from project development and financing to the technology and the
turnkey construction and operation of power plants. In Spain, Solar
Millennium developed Europe's first parabolic trough power plants and
realized these together with partners. Additional projects are planned
around the world with an overall capacity of more than 2,000 megawatts:
here the current regional focus is on Spain, the US, India, China, the
Middle East and North Africa. More information is available at
www.SolarMillennium.com
About Dii GmbH:
Dii is an international industry initiative launched in July 2009 as the
'Desertec Industrial Initiative'. Dii GmbH was founded on 30 October 2009
in accordance with German law. The proprietors of Dii are: ABB, Abengoa
Solar, Cevital, the DESERTEC Foundation, Deutsche Bank, Enel Green Power,
E.ON, HSH Nordbank, MAN Solar Millennium, Munich Re, the M+W Group, NAREVA
Holding, Red Eléctrica de España, RWE, Saint-Gobain Solar, SCHOTT Solar and
Siemens. The goal of Dii is to roll out the DESERTEC concept, which
describes the prospects of energy supply for Europe, the Middle East and
North Africa using solar and wind energy from desert regions. The long-term
objective is to produce a significant portion of the electricity demand of
manufacturing countries and a share of around 15 % of Europe's electricity
demand in 2050. More information is available at www.dii-eumena.com
About solar-thermal power plant technology:
Solar-thermal power plants generate electricity by converting solar
radiation into heat energy. In a parabolic trough power plant,
trough-shaped mirrors concentrate the incidental radiation onto a pipe in
the focal line of the collector. Its absorption heats a fluid heat medium
in the pipe, generating steam in the power block through a heat exchanger.
As in conventional power plants, the steam powers a turbine to generate
electricity. By integrating thermal storage, electricity can be supplied on
demand, even after sunset.
For further information:
Solar Millennium AG
Dipl.-Ing. Sven Moormann (Corporate Communications)
Dr. Stefan Eckhoff (Investor Relations)
Tel.: +49 (0)9131 9409-0
Email: presse@SolarMillennium.de / investor@SolarMillennium.de
Web: www.SolarMillennium.de
This press release constitutes neither an offer to sell nor the
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Solar Millennium AG. The
press release shall not form the basis for investment decisions regarding
securities of the company. Any such investment decision of a prospective
investor shall be based solely on such prospective investor's own
investigations and assessments.
This release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are not
a description of past facts, but rather relate to expectations and opinions
of Solar Millennium AG. These statements are based on current plans,
assessments and forecasts of the company. Investors should not rely on
these statements. Forward-looking statements must be understood in the
context of the circumstances existing at the time when they were made. The
company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements in
this release based on new information or future events. Forward-looking
statements always involve risks and uncertainty. Due to a multitude of
factors, actual events and actual developments may differ significantly
from the forward-looking statements contained herein. This press release
was originally prepared in German. The translation of this release or parts
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