EMAIL DETAILS

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE62E1W320100315


Blackstone N.Sea wind project clears legal hurdle


Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:15pm EDT

Stocks


The Blackstone Group L.P.

BX.N

$14.33

-0.32-2.18%

12:58pm EDT

BERLIN, March 15 (Reuters) - Blackstone Group LP will be able to move
forward with its 1-billion euro ($1.38 billion) project to build and
manage a German offshore wind farm after a legal dispute was resolved, a
company executive said on Monday.

Private Capital <http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals/privateCapital>
| Utilities <http://www.reuters.com/sectors/utilities>

Jens Assheuer, managing director of the Blackstone (BX.N
<http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BX.N> ) private
equity subsidiary WindMW, told Reuters a lawsuit against the project
that was drawn up in the summer of 2008 had been withdrawn, clearing the
way for the project called "Meerwind" that will produce enough power for
half a million homes.

"The lawsuit has been withdrawn," Assheuer said of a legal challenge
that caused a half-year delay. "Based on the current plans, it's
possible that all 80 systems will be on the grid by 2013."

According to its design, it will have an installed capacity of 400
megawatts of electricity.

The wind farm will be the latest in a growing number aiming to cash in
on European renewable energy subsidies.

It will be built over an area of 40 square kilometres about 80
kilometres north of Germany in the North Sea.

The German government has a goal of reducing emissions of planet-warming
greenhouse gases by 40 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels. It currently
gets about 16 percent of its electricity from renewables and aims to
sharply increase that.

(Reporting by Markus Wacket; writing by Erik Kirschbaum
<http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=erik.kirsch
baum&> ; editing by David Cowell)


Devon Archer

Rosemont Capital, LLC
401 Greenwich Street, 4th Floor

New York, NY 10013

212 933 9965 (o)

212 933 9964 (f)

646 436 3745 (m)