LONDON, Jul 15, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) today announced it has formed a
partnership with Windland Energieerzeugungs GmbH, founded in 1990 by
Joachim Falkenhagen, to complete the development and construction of
Meerwind, one of the North Sea's largest wind farm projects. The
project, which will be located 80 kilometres off the northern coast of
Germany, will cost in excess of EUR 1 billion to build.

The wind farm will comprise 80 wind turbines with a combined
generation capacity of 400MW. It is planned to source all technical
expertise and substantially all materials from within Germany.
Projects of this scale have been made possible by Germany's
comprehensive regulatory framework and incentive schemes for renewable
power, as amended by German Parliament at the beginning of June, 2008.
The area management plan for the future wind farms in the North and
East Sea was introduced by the German government on July 6, 2008. The
project supports the German government's stated objective of fighting
global warming by reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by
the year 2020. When completed, the wind farm will generate
approximately 1.6 billion KWh annually. This would be sufficient to
supply 500,000 households with electricity, thereby eliminating
approximately 1.4 million tons of CO(2) that would otherwise be
produced from coal-fired power generation facilities.

David Foley, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said, "We are
pleased to join with our partner, Mr Falkenhagen, to complete the
development and begin construction of this well designed project. This
will be Blackstone's second significant investment in renewable energy
following the financial closing of the $870 million Bujagali
hydroelectric power station project by Blackstone's 80% owned
portfolio company, Sithe Global, in December 2007. We continue to seek
out opportunities to invest in large scale energy infrastructure
assets, applying Blackstone's capital, relationships and industry
expertise to generate favourable returns for our limited partners
while benefiting the environment and stimulating the local economy."

Mr. Falkenhagen added, "Our rationale for partnering with
Blackstone was twofold - their expertise and commitment to large scale
greenfield energy infrastructure projects, and their ability to make
this happen on an accelerated time frame. This is an exciting project
that will bring substantial benefits to Germany and the local economy.
Unlike coal-fired power generation facilities, our wind farm will not
be exposed to the risk of volatile prices for imported fuel or to
output constraints imposed by limitations on carbon emissions. This
project will aid in providing electricity supply security for Germany
and will further develop a new offshore industry in the North Sea. We
are delighted that Blackstone is partnering with us and committing its
considerable capital and expertise to help bring this project to
fruition."

The Blackstone Group

Blackstone is one of the world's leading investment and advisory
firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value
for our investors, the companies we invest in, the companies we advise
and the broader global economy. We do this through the commitment of
our extraordinary people and flexible capital. Our alternative asset
management businesses include the management of corporate private
equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds, funds of funds, debt
funds, collateralized loan obligation vehicles (CLOs) and closed-end
mutual funds. The Blackstone Group also provides various financial
advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advisory,
restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement service.
Further information is available at www.blackstone.com.

Windland Energieerzeugungs GmbH

Windland Energieerzeugungs GmbH was founded in 1990 by Joachim
Falkenhagen as one of the first dedicated developers for wind energy
projects in Germany. Since 2000, the company has focused on offshore
wind development and its grid connection from the coast to inland
Germany.

SOURCE: The Blackstone Group

The Blackstone Group
London
Helen Winning, +44 (0) 20 7451.4344
or
New York
John Ford, +1 212-583-5559

Copyright Business Wire 2008