WORCESTER, MA, Mar 8, 2007 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX News Network) -- Online Auction Delivers Competitive REC Pricing to MMA Renewable Ventures
World Energy Solutions (TSX: XWE) announces the completion of its first online forward auction for selling renewable energy credits. Conducted for MMA Renewable Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary of Municipal Mortgage & Equity, LLC ("MuniMae," NYSE: MMA), the auction was a pioneering transaction that enabled MMA Renewable Ventures to leverage online technology to attract competing bidders wishing to purchase solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) needed to comply with New Jersey's Renewable Portfolio Standards. The auction resulted in the sale of 1500 SRECs, the equivalent of 1500 MWh of renewable energy, to be delivered over a 28-month contract period beginning in January 2007. MMA Renewable Ventures is a provider of third-party renewable energy project finance solutions.
"MMA Renewable Ventures is committed to optimizing the full spectrum of financial and technological factors to deliver cost-effective renewable energy projects, and SRECs are a critical piece of that economic puzzle," said Matt Cheney, CEO of MMA Renewable Ventures. "An innovative new tool in our renewable energy finance toolkit, the World Energy Exchange allows us to quickly reach a much larger pool of buyers in the competitive SREC market. With a winning bid that was 25 percent higher than the initial bid, the online auction likely garnered a higher price for our SRECs than we would have achieved through a traditional process."
The SRECs were auctioned for MMA Renewable Ventures through a World Energy Channel Partner, the Dome-Tech Group, a provider of energy efficiency and clean energy project development and consulting services.
"We've administered World Energy's online auction for energy purchases, but this is the first time the system has been used for the sale of SRECs," said Ed Liberty, Vice President of the Dome-Tech Group. "As the selling price of SRECs increases, the economics of a solar photovoltaic installation project improve. Buyers and sellers alike will benefit from having this new tool at work in New Jersey's solar energy market as we transition from rebates to a REC-based market."
As part of this venture, MMA Renewable Ventures financed a solar power project initiative through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with one of Dome-Tech's long-time commercial and industrial clients. The client agreed to the installation of solar panels on the roof of its manufacturing facility in return for a guaranteed source of energy to help power its facilities. The PPA enables the client to purchase the energy output of the system without having to purchase the system itself. MMA Renewable Ventures in turn benefits from a long term power sales agreement with the client and the sale of solar renewable energy credits to electricity suppliers seeking to comply with New Jersey's Renewable Portfolio Standard.
"We are pleased that Dome-Tech had such a successful result on the retail energy side that they chose us for the forward auction for the SRECs," said World Energy President Rich Domaleski. "We believe that the auction model is ideally suited to the burgeoning green market as it is efficient, transparent, and, we believe, it extracts the best price out of the market. With a tool like this, project developers can improve project economics and accelerate implementation of green alternatives. We are proud to have been part of this venture with Dome-Tech and MMA, particularly since, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first SREC on-line auction in the state's history."
About World Energy Solutions, Inc.
World Energy is an energy brokerage company that has developed the World Energy Exchange online auction platforms, through which a diverse set of energy buyers and sellers can trade energy, financial instruments and renewable energy credits in a fiscally efficient and process compliant manner. To date the company has brokered over 31 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 64 million decatherms of natural gas.
About the Dome-Tech Group
Founded in 1989, the Dome-Tech Group is a leading provider of energy efficiency and clean energy project development and consulting. With offices in both New Jersey and New York, the company was named New Jersey's First Clean Energy Market Innovator by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the Clean Energy Office. The company's five Centers of Excellence specialize in optimizing building systems and implementing energy-efficient and renewable-energy. Dome-Tech services a wide range of clients in the pharmaceutical, institutional, healthcare, K-12 and commercial markets. For more information, visit www.dome-tech.com.
About MMA Renewable Ventures
A wholly-owned subsidiary of MuniMae, MMA Renewable Ventures finances, manages and operates renewable energy assets in the United States. The Company provides customized financial solutions through debt and equity investments, leases and Power Purchase Agreements to build distributed clean energy generation plants. MMA Renewable Ventures is dedicated to delivering competitively priced, clean energy for customers, strong partnership options for project developers, and exceptional opportunities for institutional investment in the renewable energy sector. For more information about MMA Renewable Ventures, visit www.mmarenewableventures.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which World Energy Solutions operates. The statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance, are inherently uncertain and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements, and such statements should not be relied upon as representing World Energy Solutions' expectations or beliefs as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements made by us. Important factors that may affect future operating results include: our revenue is dependent on actual future energy purchases pursuant to completed procurements; the demand for our services is effected by changes in regulated prices or cyclicality or volatility in competitive market prices for energy; we depend on a small number of key energy consumers, suppliers and channel partners; factors outside our control affect transaction volume in the electricity market; and other factors identified in our Registration Statement on Form S-1 and subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE: World Energy Solutions, Inc.
Media Relations, Ginger Juhl, Juhl Communications, (720) 200-4082,
ginger@juhlcommunications.com or Investor Relations, Jim Parslow, World Energy
Solutions, Inc., (508) 459-8100, jparslow@worldenergy.com