• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Telefonica Moviles to Deploy Plug Power Fuel Cells in Venezuela

Posted on: Monday, 17 July 2006, 09:00 CDT

LATHAM, N.Y., July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Plug Power Inc. , a leader in providing clean, reliable on-site energy products, announced that Telefonica Moviles, one of the two largest wireless providers in Latin America, will begin deploying Plug Power's GenCore(R) backup power systems in Venezuela.

The initial deployment includes nine backup fuel cell systems that were purchased through Plug Power's Venezuelan distributor Corpo Teletecnical. The systems will be placed at tower locations with critical backup needs in the greater Caracas area. This new deployment follows the completion of a successful eight-month trial at an active Telefonica Moviles wireless location outside of Caracas. The GenCore system responded effectively to several grid outages during the trial period, including one that lasted approximately 12 hours, providing power and maintaining tower operation when the AC grid failed due to overloading and weather-related factors.

Telefonica Moviles has approximately 700 towers in Venezuela and more than 10,000 sites across Central and South America. Richard Croce, Energy Manager of Telefonica Moviles in Venezuela identifies candidate sites for GenCore use as those where there is insufficient space for additional batteries or a generator, or where generators are prohibited due to noise or pollution issues or weight restrictions. Additional opportunities are expected to emerge as Telefonica Moviles continues to identify sites where traditional backup infrastructure frequently fails due to extreme weather conditions and an unstable electric grid.

According to Croce, "Telefonica is clearly the leader in network reliability while reducing our environmental impact across the network. We chose Plug Power's fuel cell backup power technology over additional investment in batteries and generators due to GenCore's robust reliability and clean, quiet operation. We believe GenCore clearly represents the next step in evolution of network reliability, and we look forward to further deployment of GenCore systems in the Venezuelan network."

"We are glad to count Telefonica, a global leader in telecommunications, as a Plug Power customer," said Mark Sperry, Plug Power's Chief Marketing Officer. "Plug Power is equipping telecommunications service providers with the technology to improve the reliability of their networks and their customers' experience, while reducing customer churn and revenue losses due to failure of traditional backup energy infrastructure."

Plug Power is also participating in GenCore trials with Telefonica Moviles in other key markets including Mexico, Brazil and Spain. Product trials in Mexico and Brazil are being conducted with Plug Power's distribution partner Tyco Electronics Power Systems.

About Plug Power

Plug Power Inc. is an established leader in the deployment of clean, reliable on-site energy products. More than 650 Plug Power fuel cell systems have been delivered to customers worldwide in commercial, public sector, telecommunications, utility and uninterruptible power supply markets. For more information about how to join Plug Power's energy revolution as an investor, customer, supplier or strategic partner, please visit http://www.plugpower.com/.

About Corpo Teletecnical / Enerseg

Corpo Teletecnical and Corporacion Enerseg are a contractor joint venture based in Caracas, Venezuela. These companies are highly focused in the telecom market providing construction and maintenance services for telecom sites, including modern backup energy systems like the GenCore fuel cell system, as well as traditional backup energy infrastructure such as generators, rectifiers and batteries. Corpo Teletecnical and Corporacion Enerseg are the authorized Plug Power distributors and service providers in Venezuela.

About Telefonica Moviles

Telefonica Moviles is the wireless division of Telefonica S.A. Telefonica S.A. is the leading telecommunications operator in the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world and the second-largest European operator in terms of stock market capitalization. Telefonica provides a complete range of communications services which includes fixed telephony, mobile telephony, data transmission and added-value services, business services, internet access, directories, CRM services and content. Telefonica has more than 100 million customers. The Company has a presence in 50 countries including target markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, USA/Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Morocco.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or control and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the risk that possible strategic benefits of the Smart Hydrogen transaction do not materialize, Plug Power's ability to develop commercially viable on-site energy products; the cost and timing of developing Plug Power's on-site energy products; market acceptance of Plug Power's on-site energy products; Plug Power's ability to manufacture on-site energy products on a large-scale commercial basis; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy companies; the cost and availability of components and parts for Plug Power's on-site energy products; Plug Power's ability to establish relationships with third parties with respect to product development, manufacturing, distribution and servicing and the supply of key product components; Plug Power's ability to protect its intellectual property; Plug Power's ability to lower the cost of its on-site energy products and demonstrate their reliability; the cost of complying with current and future governmental regulations; the impact of deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry on demand for Plug Power's on- site energy products and other risks and uncertainties discussed under "Item IA-Risk Factors" in Plug Power's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 14, 2006, and the reports Plug Power files from time to time with the SEC. Plug Power does not intend to and undertakes no duty to update the information contained in this press release.

Plug Power Inc.

CONTACT: Cynthia Mahoney White, Manager, Public Relations & Marketing,Plug Power Inc., +1-518-782-7700 ext. 1973, Mobile - +1-518-527-1172,cynthia_mahoneywhite@plugpower.com

Web site: http://www.plugpower.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

More News in this Category