Zouk and Next Energy Capital invest in a 2MW solar project in Italy

London, June 18^th, 2009 – Zoukventures ltd (“zouk”), manager of the €52m solar project investment vehicle zoukSolar Opportunities Ltd (“zSOL”), and Next Energy Capital (“NEC”), a European merchant bank specialisedin the renewable energy sector, today announce their joint investment in a 2MW development-stage photovoltaic (“PV”) solar project in Puglia, Italy. The project, NextPower1, represents the first in a pipeline of projects which zSOLand NEC will develop in partnership.The NextPower1 solar power plants will be built and operated by Enerqos, one of the leading PV contractors in Italy.

The project is situated on two sites, each of 1MW. One will utilisea dual-axis tracker technology developed by Enerqos. The second site will be built on a traditional ground mounted, fixed axis system. Both sites benefit from close proximity to local electricity grid connections. Over their lifetime, the two power plants will produce over 67 million kWh, representing a saving of approximately 36,000 tons of CO2. The solar plants are expected to become operational in late 2009, from when they will start to receive the premium feed-in-tariff for the electricity produced.

It is intended that the plants will be managed by WiseEnergy, a solar asset management company controlled by NEC. NEC made their investment through NextPower, a platform designed to invest in solar parks. zoukhas invested with an initial 49% stake with the right to raise its participation to 65%. The overall investment totals €14.5m.

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