We are pleased to announce that American Renewables, LLC (AR, a Boston based company), in which Tyr Energy, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation and ITOCHU International Inc., owns a 49% interest, has completed the development phase^* and has sold 100% of Nacogdoches Power Project, a 100MW wood chip fired biomass power project in eastern Texas, to Southern Power, an affiliate of Southern Company, one of the largest utilities in United States.

Through this transaction, the project will move forward with the construction phase and is expected to begin commercial operation in the summer of 2012. After commencement of commercial operation, the project will sell electricity to Austin Energy, the city-owned utility in Austin, Texas for 20 years under a long term power purchase agreement.

ITOCHU, through Tyr Energy, established AR with BayCorp Holdings, Ltd. and Energy Management, Inc. in August 2008and has been engaged in the development of biomass power projects, which can provide more stable power than other renewable power sources, against the backdrop of accelerated introduction of renewable energy in United States,

Through this, the first of its project developments, AR will continue to focus on the development of biomass power projects and aims to be one of leading companies in this field in United States.

The Nacogdoches Power Project also marks ITOCHU’s first renewable project development in North America. Through Tyr Energy, ITOCHU continues to pursue greenfield development opportunities for additional renewable power projects, as well as the acquisition, operation, development of conventional IPPs by making the best use of expertise in ITOCHU group, the investment and management capabilities of Tyr Energy and the O&M capabilities of NAES Corporation. In this way, ITOCHU hopes to contribute to protection of the global environment.

• "Development phase" means the acquisition of the land, regulatory approvals, execution of the power purchase agreement, fuel procurement agreements, the Engineering Procurement and Construction contract etc.

About Southern Power (Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia)

Southern Power is an affiliate of Southern Company, an Atlanta based company, one of the largest generators of electricity in the nation with more than 42,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, a grid of transmission and distribution lines. Southern Power is among the largest wholesale energy providers in the Southeast, meeting the electricity needs of municipalities, electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities. The company owns and operates more than 7,500 megawatts with facilities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina and has an additional 820 megawatts committed to construction in North Carolina and Texas.

About BayCorp Holdings, Ltd. (Headquarters: Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

BayCorp is an unregulated holding company incorporated in Delaware in 1996 and in 2005 became part of the Tavistock Group of companies. The Tavistock Group is a global, private investment company that was founded 30 years ago by investor Joe Lewis and includes a broad portfolio of interests in over 170 companies in 15 countries.
BayCorp is a merchant energy company that owns power assets as well as natural gas and oil production and development assets. Baycorp previously held a joint ownership interest in the Seabrook Nuclear Power Project in Seabrook, New Hampshire. Today, BayCorp owns and operates a hydroelectric generation facility and is developing additional generation in Vermont; through its Great Bay Power Marketing, Inc. subsidiary supplies wholesale power in the New England power market; and through its subsidiary BayCorp Resources owns and operates interests in oil and natural gas development and production projects located throughout Texas. BayCorp is also the majority owner of HoustonStreet, a web-based platform for the trading of crude oil and refined petroleum products.

About Energy Management, Inc. (Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts)

EMI is a privately held energy company with more than 30 years of experience in energy conservation and energy development. In 1986, EMI developed, financed and constructed Alexandria Power Associates, a 15 MW wood-fired power production facility in Alexandria, New Hampshire. Following Alexandria, EMI developed six natural gas-fired electric generation projects totaling more than 860 MW of capacity and including the first true independent and merchant power projects in New England. EMI is also currently developing the Cape Wind Project, a 470 MW offshore wind project to be located in Nantucket Sound off the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

About Tyr Energy, Inc. (Headquarters: Overland Park, Kansas)

CEO and President: Kaoru Usami
Overview: An IPP Company wholly-owned by ITOCHU Corp. and ITOCHU International, Inc., Tyr Energy and an affiliate, Tyr Capital, LLC, currently own equity interests in two power plants in California totaling 250MW, and Tyr Energy independently owns equity interests in two power plants located in Virginia and Wisconsin totaling 915MW. Net capacity of Tyr Energy is totaling 665MW. Tyr Energy, through an affiliate, provides asset management services to those IPPs and had provided the services for other IPPs owned by financial investors.

About NAES Corporation (Headquarters: Seattle, Washington)

CEO and President: Thomas A. DeNova
Overview: A subsidiary wholly-owned by ITOCHU International, Inc. and ITOCHU Corp. who is the industry’s largest independent, third-party provider of power plant operations and maintenance services. NAES is providing O&M services to 105 plants in 10 countries, which are equivalent to 30,000 MW. In addition, NAES operates 10 plants/269MW biomass-fueled power plants, the most experienced operator of the technologies of its kind. NAES is providing maintenance services for gas turbine, steam turbine and boiler other than O&M services.