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Stock to Watch: ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS 09:24, Wednesday, 12 June 2002
Sydney - Wednesday - June 12: (RWE) ---------------------------------- ENERGY COMPANY SOARS ON BREAK THROUGH AT NSW PLANT Overview -------- Energy Developments Ltd has soared almost 20 per cent in the past five trading days after the company announced a breakthrough in its long-delayed household waste-to-energy project in NSW. The company said following the success of its Brisbane pilot, it would replace a char gasifier at its solid waste energy and recycling facility, or SWERF plant, at Whytes Gully in Wollongong. "Once installed and commissioned, the full-scale char gasifier will represent the completion of the last major component of the Swerf technology package," said the company in a statement. A char gasifier converts a type of waste known as char into synfuel gas. The construction of the char would allow the Energy Developments to resume full-scale process and capacity testing of the project, the company said. The company would also carry out emissions tests for the environmental licence required for commercialisation of the facility. Details ------- Last price: $4.27 High/Low for year: $10.53/$3.42 P/E ratio: 25.72 Dividend yield: 1.24 per cent Background ---------- Energy Developments is an integrated energy company that develops and manages an international portfolio of projects with a particular focus on renewable and waste fuels. Project capabilities include development, financing, construction and operation. ENE has 25 existing projects in Australia and 15 projects in Greece, France, US, Taiwan and the UK. The company has two core businesses: energy and waste. At end-December 2001, ENE owned 360 megawatts of generating capacity. ENE has capacity-owned plants in Australia, the UK, Taiwan, France, the US and Greece. ENE's waste business is a joint venture with subsidiary, Brightstar Environmental (88.125 per cent) and Brightstar Synfuels Group holding company BSC Holding Co (11.875 per cent). BSC own the gasification technology. The Whytes Gully SWERF project in Wollongong, which opened in December 1999, was the first commercial plant to use this technology for power generation from solid waste. Energy Developments reported a rise in earnings in the six months to December 31 2001 on the back of a 16 per cent rise in sales. The result included previously deferred project contributions of $4.7 million, which was partly offset by a $2.3 million fall in some of the plant and equipment values of the company's US operations. During the half to end-December, Energy Developments added 30 magawatts of generating capacity and commissioned new projects in the UK and US.
ENE Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held