Laidlaw Energy announces energy agreement with Fraser Papers in US

BERLIN, NH, May 11, 2009 (Business Wire) - Laidlaw Berlin Biopower, LLC, an affiliate of Laidlaw Energy Group, Inc. announced today that they have reached and executed an agreement whereby Laidlaw will supply hot water to the Gorham, NH paper mill of Fraser Papers, Inc. from Laidlaw's Berlin, NH biomass-energy facility. Given the significant cost that energy represents in Fraser's cost structure, it is expected that the agreement will result in significant savings for Fraser, which currently operates oil-fired boilers to provide heat for process water and steam at its Gorham mill. The savings expected to be realized by Fraser will help support the continued operation of the mill, which currently employs 235 workers.

Commenting on the Agreement, Laidlaw President & CEO Michael B. Bartoszek stated "Our forests are a precious resource, and this Agreement will allow us to harness substantially more of the energy created in our facility from wood chips to meet the needs of Fraser. Far too many jobs have been lost over the past few years due to mill closures. To the extent this Agreement helps turn the tide and supports mill jobs, we are extremely pleased to play a part in such a worthy endeavor."

Laidlaw has agreed to supply the hot water to Fraser at no charge, in consideration for certain beneficial easements that Fraser will provide to Laidlaw. The water is expected to be supplied via an existing 2.5 mile long pipeline between the Laidlaw and Fraser facilities. The agreement also provides that Laidlaw will fund the costs of an engineering study to explore the feasibility of Laidlaw's facility supplying Fraser with steam, which would further reduce Fraser's energy costs.

Laidlaw acquired the Berlin facility in December 2008 and has since proposed a number of initiatives to help support the recovery of the regional economy, including the creation of a 501c3 charitable organization to support economic development on the unutilized portion of the former Burgess Mill Site and the creation of a loan fund to support loggers who will supply wood chips to its facility.

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