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Carbon Trust invests £4m into New Earth to turn waste into power

£4m investment to support New Earth’s creation of a waste to energy business
Fast growing UK waste treatment and renewable energy company, New Earth Solutions Group Limited (New Earth) has received a £4m investment from Carbon Trust Investments Limited.

Following the investment by Carbon Trust, New Earth has completed the second closing in its ongoing £15m equity fundraising announced in August 2009, raising £9m to date. This follows a £5m investment in September 2009 by AIM-listed cleantech investment company Ludgate Environmental Fund Limited.

Jonathan Bryers, Partner at CT Investment Partners, the fund management advisory business which advises Carbon Trust Investments on its investment activity said, “We are delighted to be backing New Earth and its blue-chip management team as they build their waste to energy business over the next few years. The waste industry in the UK is currently evolving from a logistics and landfill industry to one based on efficient resource management and energy generation - we believe New Earth is well positioned to capitalise on this exciting opportunity”.

Chris Cox, Managing Director of New Earth, added, “We are delighted to announce that Carbon Trust has become the second investor in our current equity fund-raising process. The Carbon Trust is a highly respected and high profile investor and will add significant value as we continue the expansion of our waste treatment and energy recovery facilities throughout the UK.”

New Earth Solutions has successfully developed low impact, fully-enclosed facilities for the mechanical and biological treatment of waste, ensuring significant resource recovery and producing saleable, Environment Agency-approved composts, soil conditioners and products for recycling. The company currently has three operational sites in Dorset, Kent and Gloucestershire and has secured New Earth Carbon Trust Dec09
planning consent for three additional locations. New Earth’s sites are underpinned by medium to long-term local authority waste treatment contracts.

Building on this existing landfill diversion operation the company is now looking to use gasification and pyrolysis technologies to convert waste-derived fuel into electricity. New Earth’s first energy recovery power plant is expected to commence trading in 2010.

This latest investment from Carbon Trust deploys funding from a new £18m fund, provided by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, announced by the Carbon Trust last month. The funding boost is designed to speed up Britain’s move towards a low carbon economy by providing promising UK clean energy sector companies with investment over the next 12-18 months.