swiss label - Com Consulting SA

Wind and sun are resources that are free, not contested,
inexhaustible and available to everyone on earth. Their use
as energy does not involve significant interference with the
land, no channelling or drilling is required: It uses the vital
force of nature without depriving her of any resources.
These are the words of Paolo Rossi, chairman of the board of
directors of REnInvest SA, who we asked to tell us about the
activities of this innovative company. The company was
founded just a few years ago – in 2004 – but has expanded rapidly
since then, its original workforce of five having grown to more than
forty by the end of 2009.
REnInvest was set up to give private and institutional investors access
to the deregulated market in renewable energies though a long-term
project that is sustainable from both a financial and ethical point of
view, explains Roberto Mazza, the company’s communications
spokesman. “Today our company is involved in all phases that lead to the
production of electricity from renewable sources both in Switzerland and
abroad,” adds Mazza.
Based in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, REnInvest has a
strong international orientation and is active in other European
markets including Italy, Greece, Germany and anywhere that the
conditions of wind and sun can guarantee investors a definite and
predictable return over time.
The first projects involving wind farms (energy produced from wind)
were launched in Germany, a country at the cutting edge when it
comes to sustainable technologies and with an already established
market. At the end of April 2009, the final turbines on the Vogelsberg
wind farm in Thüringen came on stream (around 50 MW of installed
power in Germany, with 4 wind farms created between 2005 and
2009). Following this, the focus moved to Greece, a very windy
country which has so far seen little development in this area. We could
even call it an emerging market, given that there is also a strong policy
of state subsidy for this type of energy. There are other projects in
preparation or under way in Italy, in particular in the South (Puglia
and Calabria).
Switzerland has been late to join the game, since up until the end of
2008 the legislative conditions for initiating a wind farm project did
not exist.
In the summer of 2009 REnInvest signed its main partnership contract in
the area of wind power with SIG, the Geneva-based electricity company.
In practice this will lead to the construction in the Jura Arc – the windiest
region in Switzerland – of some seventy wind turbines capable of
producing up to 240 GWh of electricity, enough to power 70 thousand
homes. By 2015, around 300 million Swiss francs will have been invested
in the construction of seven wind farms in Tramelan, Moutier, Romon,
Boveresse, Grandsonnaz, Schwengimatt and Delemont.
Swiss Label Ticino 2010
C O M PA N Y P RO F I L E
REnInvest Sa
Clean energy from the wind and sun
The other large project at an advanced stage is the Saint Gotthard
wind farm, with the constitution of a namesake joint-stock company
owned by REnInvest and Azienda Elettrica Ticinese (AET).
The aim is to produce 32 GWh of electricity per year to meet the
needs of 35 thousand residents.
But how does REnInvest go about installing a wind turbine or even an
entire farm? “First of all we evaluate if the sites are suitable from an
environmental point of view,” explains Mazza. “Once we have
established this we set up an ad-hoc project company domiciled in the
region, with the task of obtaining all the necessary licences in line with the
various types of legislation. Once all the authorisations have been
obtained, the farm is built, always by local companies. The project
company then takes over the management and operation of the farm. This
will result in important financial spin-offs for everyone involved in the
project: REnInvest, the communes and the owners of the land concerned,”
concludes Mazza.
Reflecting REnInvest’s philosophy to be non-invasive and to achieve
the consent of local communities.
REnInvest Sa
P.O. Box 55 - Via Tinelle 18
CH- 6832 Chiasso-Pedrinate
Tel.: +41 (0)91 695 81 00
Fax: +41 (0)91 682 77 87
Website: www.reninvest.ch
© REnInvest
65