Together they are expected to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 632 passenger cars off the road.

Rio Rancho, N.M. & McLean, Va., October 16, 2013 – Rio Rancho Public Schools will unveil its 2,357-kilowatt solar arrays in a recognition ceremony with representatives from Washington Gas Energy Systems, Inc., AMSOLAR, Conergy and the local community. The school system has recently completed two ground-mounted solar arrays at Cleveland and Rio Rancho High Schools. Each system is approximately 1,200-kilowatts and consists of more than 4,000 solar panels. Together they are expected to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 632 passenger cars off the road.

"This partnership has been an exciting endeavor for Cleveland High School and Rio Rancho High School. Not only do our staff, students, and community have an opportunity to see renewable energy at work, but it reaffirms our district's commitment to making a difference in terms of sustainability and the protection of the environment," said Dr. V. Sue Cleveland, superintendent of Rio Rancho Public Schools. "Also, in these times of extremely limited resources, it allows our school district to redirect precious funding toward other academic priorities and needs. Hopefully, this effort will serve as a model for similar projects throughout New Mexico and other states."

Washington Gas Energy Systems will own and operate the systems under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The project was developed by AMSOLAR and constructed by Conergy, which also supplied the equipment for both schools. Each solar installation features 2.9 miles of Conergy SolarLinea mounting systems, a ground-mounted solution. The expected annual output of 4,650,000 kilowatt hours will produce approximately 80 percent of the electricity required to power Cleveland and Rio Rancho High Schools.

"We are committed to working with educational institutions across the country, and are excited at the potential for the solar arrays to serve as educational vehicles in classrooms throughout the school system while also reducing energy costs for the town," said Sanjiv Mahan, vice president of business development for Washington Gas Energy Systems. "Washington Gas Energy Systems thanks Rio Rancho Public Schools for the opportunity to continue growing our presence in New Mexico."

The solar arrays are located at 4800 Laban Road NE (Cleveland High School) and 301 Loma Colorado Blvd., NE (Rio Rancho High School) in Rio Rancho, N.M., each covering approximately 7-8 acres of land.

"The opportunity to utilize sustainable energy in an educational setting is valuable for our schools and community. The ability for our students to actually see power generated on site and how it affects their schools is education via the environment that provides better understanding of all resources and perhaps inspire them to future professions that can provide positive impact to our world," said Al Sena, executive director of facilities at Rio Rancho Public Schools. "The savings provided to the district will allow use of funds for other items that would not be otherwise available make these projects fiscally responsible."

"It has been a pleasure to work hand in hand with Rio Rancho Public Schools and our partners to deliver the largest solar project financed through a power purchase agreement at a public school district in the state of New Mexico," said Jared Quient, vice president of AMSOLAR. "It is a testament to Rio Rancho Public School's leadership that the project was a success. Their forward thinking and willingness to lead the way on renewable energy will serve as an example to other districts around the state."

"We've enjoyed working with our partners to bring more clean solar energy to New Mexico schools," said Anthony Fotopoulos, president of Conergy Americas. "Educational institutions like Rio Rancho can really benefit from the idea of local consumption via power purchase agreements for managing their future energy needs and expenses - this is the future of the American electricity market. With this electricity market model, consumers benefit from considerable electricity cost savings from the green power – without substantial upfront costs."

About Rio Rancho Public Schools

Rio Rancho Public Schools (RRPS) is New Mexico's third largest school district and enrolls approximately 17,000 students in 19 schools. The district offers challenging academic, co-curricular, and extracurricular programs which prepare students for success in higher education, the workplace, and the military. Graduation rates and overall performance on national tests such as the ACT meet or exceed national averages. In 2011, the Center for American Progress rated Rio Rancho the top district in New Mexico for return on investment: academic results achieved for dollars expended.

About Washington Gas Energy Systems, Inc.

Washington Gas Energy Systems, Inc., an affiliate of Washington Gas Light Company and a subsidiary of WGL Holdings (NYSE: WGL), design-builds and owns custom energy solutions that deliver financial, operational and carbon reduction results for non-residential customers across the United States. Washington Gas Energy Systems is focused on federal energy efficiency projects and commercial distributed generation assets including solar. Washington Gas Energy Systems currently holds over 54 MW of commercial-scale solar projects throughout the U.S. in 10 different states, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New Mexico. For more information on how Washington Gas Energy Systems can make solar power a reality for you, contact Nate Greenberg, 703-333-3929, or email nategreenberg@wges.com. For further information about Washington Gas Energy Systems, please visit www.wgesystems.com.

About AMSOLAR

AMSOLAR is a leading developer of solar energy solutions for school districts, corporations, and municipalities nationwide. Founded in the United States in 2008, our three managing partners brought a successful 20-year track record of developing commercial and utility solar energy systems throughout the United States and Europe. Together with our parent company, Solen AG, we have installed over 3,000 facilities worldwide. AMSOLAR brings together best in class finance, development, engineering and installation capabilities. For more information on AMSOLAR, contact Jared Quient at 760-480-7460 or email jared@amsolarcorp.com.

About Conergy

Conergy is a leading PV Solution and Service Provider and offers its customers tailor made, care-free, high-performance packages – be it for private or commercial roofs or for multi-megawatt installations. As a downstream expert with 350 employees and more than 15 years of experience in the construction photovoltaic plants and all related solar services, Conergy calls upon an unrivalled sales network on five continents with subsidiaries in 11 countries.