22nd Oct 2007 09:30
Scottish & Southern Energy PLC22 October 2007 SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN ENERGY £6MILLION INVESTMENT IN VITAL ENERGI UTILITIES Scottish and Southern Energy plc ("SSE") has today entered into an agreementwith Vital Energi Utilities Ltd, where SSE will invest £6million for a 30% shareof the business. Vital Energi is an established energy services contractor that specialises inthe design, supply and installation of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) andDistrict Heating systems in the commercial, industrial and residential sectors.A typical CHP scheme generates electricity through the combustion of naturalgas, landfill gas or biomass and then supplies the electricity and 'waste' heatto a local community. SSE recently reached an agreement with Berkeley Homes (East Thames) Ltd, toprovide the energy services requirements for their major development, TheWarren, in south east London. Under the ESCO Agreement, SSE will be responsiblefor installing an energy centre, including a CHP plant, which will serve over450 apartments, a nursery unit, primary care trust and commercial units. SSEwill also undertake all associated heat, electricity and gas infrastructure,metering and billing customer services, long-term operations and maintenanceservices and all fuel procurement requirements. Vital Energi is SSE's maincontractor on this development and is responsible for all elements relating tothe installation of the required energy centre and the heat distributionnetwork. Ian Marchant, SSE Chief Executive, said: "Our investment in Vital Energidemonstrates our commitment to providing sustainable solutions for our customersthroughout the UK and supports our existing Energy Services business. We believethat towns and cities can play a significant role in fighting climate change,through the use of more efficient community heating projects which can alsogenerate electricity. In locations with high heat demand density and smallerproperty sizes, community heating with CHP is likely to be one of the mosteffective and economic ways to deliver Carbon savings." Vital Energi owner and Chief Executive, Gary Fielding, sees great potential forhis business in partnering with SSE. "This is a very positive move forward forVital Energi and will allow us to build from our existing position as theleading provider of community energy solutions in the UK." -ends- This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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