FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW ENERGY CONTRACTS SUPPORT
ALAMEDA'S EXEMPLARY ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD

ALAMEDA, Calif., December 9, 2004 - At its meeting Tuesday evening, the City Council of the City of Alameda, California, approved the second of two new contracts for new renewable power resources to be employed by Alameda's municipal utility, Alameda Power & Telecom.

According to General Manager Val Fong, "These new resources will help maintain our record as one of the nation's, if not the world's, cleanest utilities."

The contracts will add new wind- and landfill-gas-generated electricity to the geothermal, hydroelectric, and other renewable resources that already are used to serve Alamedans. During the past year, from over 80% to at times 90% of the power consumed in the community was generated using renewable resources.

Under the contract approved Tuesday, Alameda P&T will purchase electricity generated from wind from PPM Energy from its High Winds Energy Center in Solano County. The power will fulfill 4% of Alameda's load, beginning January 1, 2005, for close to 24 years. The High Winds Energy Center has a capacity of 162 megawatts and is the largest single wind generating facility in the state.

Alameda P&T also will purchase electricity generated from landfill gas from Ameresco Santa Cruz Energy, L.L.C. (Ameresco). Alameda will receive a 50% share of the output from a 3.2-megawatt landfill gas generating facility to be built in Watsonville, California. This agreement will serve 2% of the City's annual load for 20 years. Energy deliveries will commence when facility construction is completed, anticipated by mid 2007. The City of Palo Alto has contracted with Ameresco for the other 50% share of the output.

Alameda Power & Telecom also is pursuing other landfill-gas-generation projects in the greater Bay Area.

About Alameda Power & Telecom
Founded in 1887, Alameda Power & Telecom is the oldest municipal electric utility west of the Mississippi River. It now serves approximately 33,000 electric power customers. Sophisticated fiber-optic-based telecommunications services, including cable television and Internet access, were added to Alameda Power & Telecom's offerings in 2001. To date, over 13,000 accounts have chosen telecommunications services provided by Alameda Power & Telecom. For more information, please visit our website at www.alamedapt.com.

About PPM Energy
Portland, Oregon-based PPM Energy is part of the ScottishPower ((NYSE: SPI) group of companies. With a portfolio of more than 830 MW of wind power currently in operation in seven states, PPM Energy has a goal of bringing 2,000 MW of new wind power to market by 2010. PPM Energy balances its supply portfolio with sales to wholesale customers, placing almost all of its output in long-term contracts. Major customers include the cities of Seattle, Sacramento, Pasadena, Anaheim as well as investor-owned utilities such as Alliant Energy and Xcel Energy and the federal Bonneville Power Administration. PPM Energy also has about 800 megawatts of clean gas resources under its control to give customers a wide range of options for adding environmentally responsible energy to their portfolios. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Center for Resource Solutions honored PPM recently for significantly advancing development of the green power market. For more information, please visit www.ppmenergy.com.

About Ameresco Santa Cruz Energy
Ameresco Santa Cruz Energy L.L.C. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ameresco, Inc. Headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, Ameresco is an independent energy solutions company that delivers long-term customer value through innovative systems, strategies and technology. Green power and renewable energy strategies represent a core business offering that provides its clients secure, clean energy alternatives. Ameresco operates and maintains a significant presence throughout North America. For more information, see www.ameresco.com.