Vetrocom begins construction of Bulgarian wind farm 5/12/2009 4:34:58 PM GMT KAZANLAK, BULGARIA: Alpiq subsidiary Vetrocom Ltd. has begun construction of the 50-MW Vetrocom Wind Park in Bulgaria. Vetrocom will invest around EUR 80 million (US$109 million) in the project over the next two years. The wind farm will have 20 wind turbines from German manufacturer Fuhrländer. Commissioning is expected towards the end of 2010. The site of the wind farm is near the town of Kazanlak, 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Bulgarian capital Sofia. Stefan Damyanov, the mayor of Kazanlak, and several officials from Alpiq attended a ground breaking ceremony for the wind farm on May 7. Alpiq is a Swiss energy trading company.

EC to unblocks EUR 115mln on ISPA program for Bulgaria: PM | 12 May 2009 | 17:52 | FOCUS News Agency | Sofia. The European Commission will unfreeze about EUR 115 million on ISPA program for Bulgaria, Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev said at a special press conference, cited by FOCUS News Agency. “The decision came after a profound and serious check. Our state displayed full political will in the past year. Therefore results didn’t late. Efforts of the government to cover all faults met the success”, the Prime Minister commented.

Austrian Verbund Acquires Wind Power Project in Bulgaria (May 12, 2009) Austrian utility Verbund (WBAG:VER) has bought an energy project on the Black Sea Coast in Bulgaria, APA wrote on 12 May 2009, citing Verbund. No financial details were disclosed. The takeover, carried out via Verbund's subsidiary Verbund-Austrian Renewable Power, covers eight wind turbines. The project has an installed capacity of 16 MW and the wind farm site is expected to be connected to the grid by the end of 2009. The annual electricity generation is anticipated at some 50 GWh and will supply about 14,000 households. Sector: Utilities, Wind power Type: Asset acquisition Target: Energy project Buyer: Verbund AG via subsidiary Verbund-Austrian Renewable Power