Vattenfall acquires share of Buchanan Renewables Fuel Ltd in Liberia

Vattenfall and Swedfund acquire 30 percent of Buchanan Renewables Fuel. Vattenfall's share will be 20 per cent for MEUR 20, and Swedfund's 10 per cent for MEUR 10. Vattenfall already has a sourcing agreement with Buchanan Re-newables and is now becoming a partner to expand the operations and secure a significant biomass supply. Using biomass is an important key to reducing Vattenfall’s emissions of fossil carbon dioxide. It is a renewable energy source that can replace coal in existing power plants. Since the supply of biomass in Europe is limited import will be necessary to meet an increased demand. The acquisition of a share in Buchanan Renewables Fuel is a natural first step towards building an international sourcing portfolio to secure a long-term supply of biomass that meets high sustainability requirements. “The use of waste rubber trees at the end of their productive life is environmentally and economically an ideal source of biomass to replace coal and reduce our carbon footprint. There is also a great potential to expand the operations of Bu-chanan Renewables to deliver up to two million tonnes of biomass per year to Vattenfall,” says Göran Lundgren, Vice President, responsible for Vattenfall’s biomass programme. The biomass from Buchanan Renewables Fuel is produced from old, non-productive rubber trees. A rubber tree stops producing latex after 25-30 years. Buchanan Renewables then removes these non-productive trees from the plantation, pays the farmer for the trees and ensures that new trees are being planted. In this way trees that had previously been burned as waste now become a valuable resource. “This helps to rejuvenate the rubber industry, which is the backbone of Liberia’s economy. It will also contribute by job-creation and re-electrification by providing fuel for local power production. BRF has set an admirable standard for responsible foreign investments and we welcome Vattenfall”, says Richard Tolbert, chairman of the Foreign Investment Committee of the Liberian government. Vattenfall is making the investment together with Swedfund, Sweden’s leading development finance institution that specialises in investments in developing countries. Swedfund is owned by the Swedish state. Vattenfall discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Securities Market Act. For pictures and video open this link: http://player.creomediagroup.se/vattenfall_buchanan_renewables For further information, please contact: Edvard Lind, acting Head of Media Relations, telephone +46 8 739 56 74, +46 70 358 63 30. From Vattenfall's Press Office, telephone: +46 8 739 50 10, press@vattenfall.com.