Investment in Geothermal Int

Scottish & Southern Energy PLC
09 April 2008



                        SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN ENERGY PLC
             Significant investment in Geothermal International Ltd


Scottish and Southern Energy plc ('SSE') has agreed to invest up to £15 million
in cash for a 20 per cent stake in Geothermal International Ltd, from existing
shareholders. The investment will be made on a phased basis over the next six
months.


Geothermal International Ltd (GI) is the UK's leading supplier of ground source
heating and cooling systems. The business is well established and currently has
extensive operations throughout the UK and Ireland, and to a lesser extent in
Europe. It is primarily active in the commercial building sector. Since becoming
established in 2000, it has installed over 1300 ground source heat pump systems,
amounting to over 90MW of installed capacity, sized from 6kW to 10MW.


Ground source heat pump systems can be used to transfer energy between buildings
and the surface crust of the planet, or surrounding air, providing a renewable
energy efficient means of heating and cooling buildings. They are a practical,
cost-effective and energy efficient way of achieving the high targets now being
set in British cities for renewable energy penetration in new developments.
Heating and cooling costs are dramatically reduced with ground source
technology, up to 70% annually, and building carbon emissions can be also
reduced by 50%.


SSE will benefit from having a commercial offering in geothermal energy and a
significant stake in a business which is currently dominating a rapidly growing
sector of the European heat market.


Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE said: 'SSE is rapidly building a strong
portfolio of clean energy businesses that cover almost every part of the
renewable and alternative energy market in the UK. Geothermal energy has been an
obvious missing piece in this portfolio and this deal fills the gap very
effectively.


'Geothermal International is a well established business with a proven
capability and will play a major role in supporting our growing Energy Services
business. It provides SSE with access to renewable heat technologies that
compliment the renewable electricity technologies we have already invested in,
and reinforces our commitment to offer customers a complete range of renewable
energy solutions.


'This is likely to become the largest direct investment made by our ventures
team and represents the ninth deal since the team was created a year ago.'


Brian Davidson, CEO of Geothermal International, said: 'Geothermal International
has built a unique position within the ground source heat pump sector. The
company offers a complete service to the commercial buildings market and has a
reputation for pioneering ground loop design, as well as the capability and
track record to install large systems for an array of commercial buildings.


'The investment and strategic partnership with SSE is a vote of confidence for
the technology by one of the UK's leading utility companies. This partnership
will provide numerous commercial and strategic opportunities for GI, and help to
grow the business to the next stage of development. We look forward to working
with SSE's other renewable energy partners, as well as providing ESCO solutions
for developers, house builders and local authorities that deploy ground source
heat pumps on a large scale.'



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