HISTORY

Our company has been active for over fifteen years now. The following are some of the key events in that period:

  1. Sorgent.e acquires the control of MJ2 Technologies sas, a French company which designs, produces and commercializes worldwide VLH turbogenerators, an international patented product able to exploit low and very low heads allowing the execution of hydroelectric power plants so far considered as not profitable. Isola Dovarese (1MW) and Crema (1,2 MW) hydroelectric plants, owned by the group, have been commissioned, whereas in Ariano Irpino a new wind farm has been completed and commissioned with a power equal to 10 MW.  In October 2012 Sorgent.e has been selected by the Italian Sotck Exchange in order to enter the “Elite Project”, first step towards a potential listing of the group in the Italian Stock Exchange. In Chile the Providencia hydroelectric power plant (14 MW) was commissioned in December  - which, being Sorgent.e’s third plant in the Andean Country, helps consolidating its presence, leading the group to become the first producer of energy by non conventional renewable sources (ERNC) in Chile. In Canada, British Columbia province, Sorgent.e is completing the acquisition of a number of under development projects for the execution of new hydroelectric power plants. Sorgent.e Hydro Canada has been established in Vancouver (BC) in order to support the project of growth of the group started during the latest year. Moreover, the R&D work performed by STE Energy’s team of technicians has continued its development, and, in 2012 they’ve been invited to prestigious international conferences in order to present the preliminary results of their work on the islanded operation of small permanent magnets hydro generators connected to the grid through a frequency converter.

  1. Sorgent.e decides on a share capital increase to which the Amber Capital investment found participates, becoming a minority shareholder of the holding company of the group. The Italian found Orizzonte SGR – representing the National system of the Chamber of Commerce -  will afterwards participate to the capital increase with a minority share. Such operation is devoted to consolidating and promote Sorgent.e’s development in Italy and abroad, allowing to support the projects of growth of the group, consolidating its national presence as well as promoting new investments under development, mostly in North and South America. In the meanwhile, Sorgent.e Chile is starting the execution of a new power plant with a power equal to 14 MW in the VII Maule Region. Sorgent.e’s growth abroad continues thanks to the opening of new subsidiaries in Armenia (Hydro Energy Ital CJSC), in Santiago de Cile (S.T.E. Energy Chile spa)  and in China in Hangzhou City, in the Zhejiang region (S.T.E. Energy China). As far as Italy is concerned, Sorgent.e closes the year with very good business results on the PV field, with more than 30 MWp installed, and with the entry into operation of three new owned PV plants. During the last few years Sorgent.e also started the execution of new hydroelectric and wind plants in Italy.

  1. We won major tenders to build a number of power stations, including a 120 MW hydroelectric plant in Peru, and biomass fuelled plants with district heating systems in Italy. The Mariposas plant (Chile) and Montodine plant (Lombardy) started up. The Montodine plant was the first in Italy to use VLH (Very Low Head) technology with no main building. The Lircay plant (Chile) entered the KPMG table of the world’s top 100 infrastructures (“Infrastructure100”): this is the only hydroelectric generating plant in the list, and was included for its socio-economic and environmental importance. Economic and financial results continued to improve.

  1. Our photovoltaic business expanded and we built a number of parks for different public and private clients, independently and working in partnership with leading players in the PV sector. Via a participated French company, we began the production of VLH (Very Low Head) hydroelectric turbines with virtually zero environmental impact. Our company not only survived the economic crisis that caused so much damage, but production, turnover and results continued to grow.

  1. Our group and its operating companies were given a new organisation, with companies assigned to provide investment and management services and S.T.E. Energy designated general contractor. We continued investing in hydroelectric plant in Italy, with Scaricatore di Mezzo in Cassano d'Adda and Belgiardino 2 (Lombardy). The Lircay plant (Chile) also came on line. We continued working with leading foreign companies on foreign market contracts.

  1. Our business continued to grow in turnover, earnings and personnel. We made our first investments in wind power, in the form of the Rotondella and Campomaggiore wind farms (Basilicata - Italy), financed under a project finance agreement. We successfully completed a number of cogeneration plant for district heating using various fuels (biomass, syngas, natural gas, etc.).

  1. Business abroad grew dramatically in this period through acquisitions in Costa Rica, Turkey, Ecuador and Canada. We also began development and investment activities via dedicated holdings and local market partners in Chile, Brazil, France, and Croatia. Our company won recognition from numerous international financial organisations, and we began working with the I.F.C. (International Finance Corporation) on finance for projects in South America. We also continued investing in hydroelectric projects in Italy (Genivolta 2 in Lombardy).

  1. Business grew on the domestic market and on various foreign markets, and we entered into more partnerships with leading service and construction companies in the field of renewable energy. Our turnover and our workforce grew as a result. We consolidated our direct presence through our own hydroelectric projects in Sant Anna (Piedmont), Pikel and Alta Civetta (Veneto). We also completed the world’s first hydroelectric plant to use a permanent magnet bulb turbine (Paullo, Lombardy). Our plant engineering business grew rapidly in parallel. We joined the CONSTA stable consortium, and this allowed us to participate in major infrastructure works like the new Verona and Ciampino Airport Terminals, the Venice passenger port, motorways and large hotel and industrial complexes. The potential of our companies grew so significantly that we were included in the SOA register, enabling us to undertake works of unlimited value.

  1. In parallel with the construction of turnkey plant against requests from clients and partners, we also participated in direct investments in hydroelectric plant. In Italy we completed hydroelectric stations in Voltabarozzo (Veneto), and in Bolenzana and Genivolta (Lombardy). We also consolidated our know-how in project finance for energy projects, energy sales and green certificates. We also began developing other energy sources, including wind, on behalf of clients. Our activities in the field of renewables was recognised by key operators, and leading turbine manufacturers also saw the potential of our work and invited us to take part in various projects on different continents. The internationalisation of our activities thus began in earnest.

  1. We acquired the firm Nuovi Orizzonti Srl, a manufacturer specialising in electrical plant, electrical instrumentation and thermohydraulics) and thus entered an area that is synergic with the construction of energy generating plant. Our company’s workforce and turnover grew, and its work gained greater recognition from the market.

  1. Backed up by their experience with a French multinational specialising in the construction of electrical power stations, a number of managers formed S.T.E. Srl along with a group of Padua entrepreneurs. The company began the construction of turnkey power stations, especially hydroelectric plant. At the same time, we undertook other projects for a number of clients and partners, identifying sites, helping with engineering and obtaining the necessary permits and licences. We immediately established partnerships with leading energy companies (e.g. RWE, Italcementi) and designed and constructed major hydroelectric power stations in Italy on their behalf.