"Energy Efficiency Award" for Viessmann, SMA and Saigon TanTec

Minister Brüderle Recognises Businesses for Increasing In-Process Energy Efficiency

HANOVER and BERLIN, Germany, April 21, 2010 - At the WORLD ENERGY DIALOGUE, four innovative businesses today received
the "Energy Efficiency Award 2010" in recognition of their exemplary energy
efficiency projects. For the first time, two joint first prizes were awarded
this year: German Federal Minister of Economics Rainer Brüderle handed over
one of the first prizes to Viessmann Werke GmbH & Co KG for the energy
optimisation of an existing production plant. SMA Solar Technology AG was
delighted to also receive first prize for a new build CO2-neutral inverter
plant.

The second prize was won by Saigon TanTec Limited for an energy-efficient
new build leather factory in Vietnam. The Brazilian aluminium producer
Alunorte won a recognition prize for reducing its energy requirements in
aluminium production. The "Energy Efficiency Award 2010", with total prize
money of EUR 35,000, was jointly organised as part of Initiative
EnergieEffizienz by the Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) - the German
Energy Agency - together with Deutsche Messe and DZ BANK AG with funding from
the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

"The prize-winning businesses have seen the signs of the times and, by
improving energy efficiency, have secured major cost reductions and a
competitive edge for themselves", said Stephan Kohler, the Chief Executive
Officer of dena. "Businesses wishing to beat off international competition
would be well advised to take a systematic approach to minimising energy
usage."

As long ago as 2005, Viessmann Werke began to optimise energy usage at
their Allendorf (Eder) site by planning and implementing targeted energy
efficiency measures in the context of a strategic energy management
programme. On the basis of a thorough analysis of energy, resource and
working efficiency, the plant, which had grown over the years, was completely
reorganised. Both the industrial facilities and the building shells were
modernised with regard to energy. One feature of the programme was
centralising heat recovery so as to be able to utilise any waste heat streams
as part of an integrated energy network. This feature alone saves the company
some EUR 600,000 per year in energy costs.

SMA has implemented an energy plan for its new inverter plant which
minimises manufacturing energy requirements and provides any energy which is
still required from renewable energy sources. The basis for this plan is the
rigorous utilisation of generated process heat and the use of
energy-efficient technologies. For example, the company uses particularly
efficient lighting which is controlled as a function of the available
daylight. The lighting system is one of SMA's biggest energy consumers, since
high lighting levels of 1,000 Lux are required in electronics manufacture.
Overall, in comparison with conventional technologies, the company has been
able to cut energy consumption by more than three million kilowatt-hours per
year.

Saigon TanTec Ltd. decided to implement an integrated energy and
environmental management system for a new production plant in Vietnam. The
key element is an innovative benchmarking method which combines existing
in-house and external benchmarks, for instance relating to energy input per
workpiece, comparing them with the company's existing manufacturing
performance: Saigon TanTec's average energy input for one square metre of
leather is only 33 megajoules, compared with a leather industry standard of
around 52 megajoules. The reduction in energy requirement was achieved, among
other things, by optimising the building shell, lighting and air conditioning
systems and by in-process measures.

Alunorte has optimised a production process, calcination, central to
aluminium manufacture. The new process improves heat transfer and reduces the
pressure drop across the system. As a result, Alunorte has been able to
achieve a clear reduction in energy usage.

More details about all the prize winners can be found at
www.industrie-energieeffizienz.de.

    Media contact:

    Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena)
    Immo Zoch
    Chausseestrasse 128a
    10115 Berlin
    Tel: +49(0)30-72-61-65-771
    Fax: +49(0)30-72-61-65-699
    E-mail: zoch@dena.de
    Internet: www.dena.de

Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena), Immo Zoch, Chausseestrasse 128a, 10115 Berlin, Tel: +49(0)30-72-61-65-771, Fax: +49(0)30-72-61-65-699, E-mail: zoch at dena.de