PRESS RELEASE

20 JUNE 2011

Zldforrs Energia Kft. has laid the foundation stone for the biogas power plant in Szeged
On 20 June 2011 the foundation stone for the biogas power plant of Zldforrs Energia Kft. was laid with all due solemnity. At the intersection of motorway M43 and Sndorfalvi Road a small-scale cogeneration power plant based on renewable energy, i.e. biogas produced from diluted swine manure, will be implemented. Mr. Thierry Le Boucher, President and CEO of EDF DMSZ Zrt. which is the majority owner of Zldforrs Energia Kft., and Mr. Zsolt Eszes Managing Director of INWATECH Kft. company that will perform implementation delivered speeches at the event. At the foundation stone laying ceremony we were informed that the operation will probably start in mid-December 2011. The idea to establish this power plant came a few years ago, which means to put research results achieved by the University of Szeged into practice with the participation of several local enterprises. The European Union also provides support amounting to a total of HUF 625 million for the project, i.e. the power plant will be implemented through co-financing from the European Fund for Regional Development. The Department of Biotechnology of University of Szeged (SZTE) worked out a procedure which is more efficient than traditional methods to generate biogas, and EDF DMSZ Zrt. provided financial support to improve this procedure. To verify successful laboratory and experimental results under operating conditions, SZTE (DEAK Zrt.) and EDF DMSZ Zrt. jointly decided and financed the preparatory works for the establishment of a prototype biogas power plant then, involving local partners interested in the establishment and operation of a biogas plant, established the Green Source Energy project company. The Green Source Biogas Power Plant project has a double objective: to establish an efficient biogas power plant in Szeged Region by making use of local resources and mitigating the negative impacts on the environment and to create conditions for establishing an industrial experimental basis for biotechnological researches conducted in Szeged in order to facilitate development of biogas technology in Hungary. The preliminary study and the feasibility study have proved that in Szeged Region the conditions are favourable to implement an efficient biogas power plant. Out of potential scenes, the area located in the vicinity of PIGMARK pig farm and KAROTIN grain dryer has been chosen. This is the place where criteria for an energy efficient facility which is financially profitable are met to the greatest extent. The diluted swine manure, which can otherwise pollute the environment, will be an important raw material for the power plant, and the grain dryer will make use of the heat generated in the power plant. In the overwhelming majority of the cases, the electricity generated is fed into the national power grid, and any direct local utilization is very infrequent. In case of the Green Source project the electricity will also be fed into grid and the power will be purchased by the Hungarian Electric Power Transmission System Operator (MAVIR Zrt.). According to the plans, 19 thousand tons of diluted swine manure and almost 17 thousand tons of corn silage will be utilized every year.

Zldforrs Energia Kft. has concluded an implementation contract with INWATECH Kft., the company which won the procurement tendering process. The project company has concluded 20-year contracts with suppliers which met strict criteria (Agroplanta Kft., Karotin Kft. and Pigmark Kft.). Developed agriculture is characteristic of the region, and, in all probability, a great number of prosperous agricultural companies will function in the region in the future, too. EDF DMSZ Zrt. is the majority owner of Zldforrs Energia Kft. and is interested in economic development of the region therefore the company has supported and supports governments efforts to develop the region. One of the most important objectives of the power supplier in the region is to generate energy by making use of local resources and employing future-friendly technologies and attaching importance to sustainable and renewable energy generation. At the same time, the implementation of the biogas plant provides a good opportunity to involve small and medium size enterprises of the region in green energy generation and, as a result, to facilitate innovative network cooperation.

At webpage www.zoldforrasenergia.hu you can see the visual concept and the construction of the Green Source Biogas Power Plant in Szeged can be monitored continuously.

EDF DMSZ Zrt. supplies electricity to about 760,000 corporate and retail customers in Hungary. The group has 1,400 employees and operates 31,600 km of electricity network.

EDF Group, one of the leaders in the energy market in Europe, is a comprehensive energy service provider with operations in every business, including energy generation, transport, distribution, trading and sales. The Group is the leading electricity producer in Europe. In France, it mainly has nuclear and hydraulic production facilities, with an electricity output that is 95% free of CO2 emissions. EDFs transport and distribution subsidiaries operate 1,285,000 km of low and medium voltage overhead and underground electricity lines and around 100,000 km of high and very high voltage networks. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to more than 28 million customers in France. The Group generated consolidated sales of 65.2 billion in 2010, of which 44.5% out of France. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and is a member of the CAC 40 index.

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