Emera Invests In OpenHydro Group Limited

Emera Inc. has invested (euro) 10.2 million (C$15 million) to acquire a 7.4% interest in OpenHydro Group Limited, an Irish renewable tidal energy company. OpenHydro designs and manufactures marine turbines for harnessing energy from tidal currents under the world's oceans - silently and invisibly generating electricity at no cost to the environment.

"This is an exciting opportunity for Emera to invest in a company that is developing new technology for the growing world renewable energy market," said Emera CEO Chris Huskilson. "This investment is a manageable first step and part of Emera's Renewable Energy Strategy."

OpenHydro has developed a unique Open-Centre Turbine technology that is environmentally friendly. Its commercial scale test turbine is operating at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland.

Nova Scotia Power, an Emera Inc. company, selected OpenHydro's Open-Centre Turbine technology in 2007 for deployment in a tidal energy demonstration project in the Bay of Fundy. The Province of Nova Scotia recently announced that the technology proposed by Nova Scotia Power and OpenHydro is among those that will be tested in the Bay of Fundy starting in 2009. The Nova Scotia Power-OpenHydro demonstration project has been approved for funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a not-for-profit corporation created by the Government of Canada that provides funding to emerging clean technologies.

Emera will hold one seat on OpenHydro's seven member Board of Directors. "We are very pleased to have Emera join our team," said Brendan Gilmore, Chairman, OpenHydro Group Limited. "Their operational knowledge and expertise complement our existing skill set very well. Together, we can build on OpenHydro's future program for tidal farms, silently and invisibly generating renewable energy under the world's oceans." -- www.cnxmarketlink.com

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