Dr. Ladavadee Sumritvanitcha, Assistant Managing Director for Yanhee Solar (1st from left), Dr Supot Sumritvanitcha, Managing Director for Yanhee Solar (2nd from left), Mr. Marc Lohoff, Managing Director for Conergy Asia Pacific & Middle East (3rd from left) and Mr. Daniel Gaefke, Managing Director for Annex Power (4th from left) in the contract signing event for the 3 MW solar plant.

Turning point in Southeast Asia: Conergy is profiting from emerging solar markets

• 3-megawatt photovoltaic plant to be built some 70 km north of Bangkok
• Conergy Asia boss Lohoff: "A milestone for Conergy and our involvement in Asia."
• Rapid growth: In 2010, roughly 20 percent of all new photovoltaic plants will be installed in Asia

The Conergy Group has begun constructing the largest commercially-operated photovoltaic plant in Thailand on behalf of Yanhee Solar. The 3-megawatt park will be built in Ayutthaya, about 70 kilometers from the capital, Bangkok. Conergy Singapore is responsible for planning, development, acquisition of components and general supervision of the project. The new photovoltaic plant once again strengthens Conergy's outstanding position in the emerging Asian solar market. The Hamburg-based solar specialists will carry out the construction project along with its Thai exclusive partner, Annex Power.

The plant is expected to produce 4,471 megawatt hours (MWh) a year, thus avoiding at least 1,971 tons of CO2 emissions annually. The park will be built in two phases: In the 2nd quarter of 2010, Conergy will connect the first megawatt to the Thai public grid. In the second construction phase, the remaining two megawatts will be installed - and connected to the grid by the end of 2010. When completed, the Yanhee Solar Park will be the largest commercial photovoltaic project in Thailand and the largest privately-owned photovoltaic plant in Southeast Asia.

Conergy's Marc Lohoff: "The Yanhee Solar Park is another milestone for Conergy Asia."

"The project is a milestone for Conergy in Asia and strengthens our position in the Thai solar market," according to Marc Lohoff, Managing Director for Conergy in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East. "We are very happy to be working for Yanhee and are looking forward to supporting the efforts in Thailand to produce more electricity from renewable energies." The Managing Director of Yanhee Solar, Dr. Supot Sumritvanitcha, adds: "For our first large solar project, we looked for an established partner with international references in the photovoltaic market - and found it in Conergy."

Strong growth expected: Conergy optimally positioned in the emerging Asian market

Solar energy has gained considerable importance in Asia over the past months - and the market will continue to grow rapidly. Industry experts at Bank Sarasin Asia forecast that in 2010 the region will contribute about 20 percent of the world's newly installed capacities. The most promising market, with growth of 98 percent projected, is India. Conergy has also been active there for years. Most governments in the region have introduced eco programs that promote renewable energies, including the suspension of income tax, customs and charge exemptions, attractive subsidies for fixed feed-in tariffs and guaranteed access to the public grids.

The Thai solar market, in particular, is looking at extraordinary growth this year: The installed capacities of photovoltaic plants are predicted to double in 2010. The goal of the Thai government is to meet 20.4 percent of energy requirements from renewable energies by 2022. A fixed feed-in tariff of up to ? 0.20/kWh for solar energy was introduced last year in order to foster an environmentally-friendly energy supply. The Thai market has reacted very positively to that, with applications for solar systems amounting to about 1 GW of output in the meantime.