Consistently with its sustainable development policy, Italcementi Group - acting through Italgen, its energy company -  has closed the acquisition in Turkey of licenses to build a significant wind farm.

The new wind farm will be built in the Balikesir area (North Western Turkey) on a plateau exposed to constant winds and close to nodes with the national power grid.

The facility, after the agreements signed in Egypt and Morocco, will enable Italgen to expand its renewable energy business as envisaged by its Strategic Plan.

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Italgen, a wholly owned Italcementi company, has until now operated mainly in Italy, with most of its energy production serving the requirements of the Group. Today, 44% of output is produced from renewable sources, specifically 14 hydroelectric plants located in the regions of Piemonte, Lombardia and the Veneto (Northern Italy) supplying a proprietary network of power lines for a total length of approximately 500 kilometers.
Compatibly with Italcementi Group’s position as an international player, Italgen growth plans for the next 5 years aims to bring the Company on the open electric power market and to create shareholder’s value by targeting significant international initiatives together with a range of new projects in Italy. The program also provides for growth aligned with the principles of sustainable development: accordingly, Italgen will continue to strengthen its focus on renewable sources, which will account for 2/3 of total production by the time the program has been completed. The remaining 1/3 will be produced by high-yield plants deploying best available technology to minimize environmental impact.
In 2007 Italgen had a nominal production capacity of 126 MW and reported revenues totaling 50.7 million euro, on production of 450 GWh.