Akeida Capital Finances California Renewable Energy Facilities

NEW YORK, NY, Jun 16 (MARKET WIRE) --
Akeida Capital Management, LLC, an environmental asset management firm
focused on originating and investing in projects aimed at combating
climate change, today announced it has closed on senior secured financing
for two biomass power generation facilities located in the San Joaquin
Valley in California. The facilities, in Merced and Chowchilla,
California, each have a capacity of 12.5-megawatts and can generate
enough electricity to power 25,000 homes.

David Kandolha, principal at Akeida Capital said, "The environmental
benefits provided by these plants and the unique challenges of this
transaction made it critical for us, working with our partners, to come up
with a flexible financing package in order to provide the capital
necessary to allow these plants to operate at their full capacity for the
foreseeable future."

Akeida provided a $12.5 million senior secured loan facility to fund
working capital for both the Merced and Chowchilla plants. Previous
construction financing for the refurbishment of the facilities was
completed in 2008. The two plants, owned by Global Ampersand, LLC and its
affiliates, have entered into 15-year power purchase agreements to sell
electricity to California's Pacific Gas and Electric Company, qualifying
them for state tax credits. Global Ampersand's Chief Operating Officer,
Eric Shumway said, "Closing on this loan facility will allow our project
team finally to focus on getting the most out of our plants, rather than
on searching for working capital in a tight lending environment."

The Akeida Capital transaction comes as large electric utilities such as
Southern Co. and Progress Energy have made multi-million dollar
investments in biomass power plants. Driven by federal and state
incentives and a proposed House bill that would require electric
utilities to generate 20% of their power from renewable sources by 2020,
companies are looking to build these facilities which make use of an
abundant supply of plants, wood chips and other organic material. Biomass
is expected to generate 4.5% of the electricity consumed in the United
States by 2030, outpacing both wind and solar power.

"We're pleased to participate, along with our partners, in a transaction
which increases California's supply of renewable energy and, at the same
time secures jobs in the San Joaquin Valley," said Harvey Abrahams,
principal at Akeida Capital Management.

Biomass, a fuel source in which wood and plant material are burned to
produce renewable energy, can be used for both heating and power, and
produces little to no carbon footprint representing a key component in
future green power generation. Biomass reduces carbon emissions by 15.2
million tons annually, while diverting over 25.3 million tons of organic
materials that would otherwise decompose, be open burned, or accumulate in
the forest as overgrowth material. Currently, the commercial biomass power
generating industry in the United States produces about 0.5 percent of the
U.S. electricity supply.

Akeida Capital Management, LLC was advised on this transaction by Blank
Rome, LLP. The Blank Rome team was lead by Sarah Hewitt of Blank Rome's
New York office and included a cross-discipline team of attorneys,
including Margaret Hill of Blank Rome's Philadelphia office on
environmental matters and William Small of Blank Rome's Los Angeles
office on real estate matters. The team was also supported by Nicolas
Giannasca, Erin Harkiewicz and Mike Semes amongst others.

About Akeida Capital Management

Akeida Capital Management, LLC and the Akeida Environmental Funds invest
in market solutions that combat climate change. As worldwide environmental
commodity markets develop, Akeida is a vital link between investors,
project developers and the environmental asset marketplace. Akeida
originates and finances projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
generate alternative energy in industrialized and developing countries. In
addition, Akeida actively manages a portfolio of diversified environmental
assets including Kyoto and voluntary carbon offsets, U.S. based renewable
energy credits and emission reduction credits.

Akeida secures unique opportunities for investors by providing custom
financial structures for renewable energy, emission reduction and
efficiency projects. Akeida's environmental finance expertise allows us to
provide sound financing solutions while ensuring the environmental
integrity of each asset in its portfolio. All assets in Akeida's portfolio
are validated using industry best practices ensuring real, quantifiable
and permanent benefits for the environment while contributing towards
sustainable development. For more information about Akeida Capital
Management, visit http://www.akeidacapital.com/.

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