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New York Power Authority Selects Northern Power to Provide Renewable Power System

Posted on: Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 15:01 CDT

WAITSFIELD, Vt., July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has commissioned Northern Power Systems, a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems Corp , to design and install a 165- kilowatt power generation system for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) at its Owl's Head Wastewater Treatment Facility in Brooklyn, New York.

The water treatment site will be the first wastewater facility in the country to install multiple Stirling engines to generate its own electricity. Manufactured by STM Power, the three 55-kilowatt Stirling external combustion engines are designed to burn anaerobic digester gas, a byproduct of the wastewater treatment process that is currently "flared" into the atmosphere.

By burning digester methane, the Owl's Head facility will experience several benefits. First, by converting a waste byproduct of its process into a free, renewable fuel source, the facility is expected to lower its energy costs. Second, the system will create an environmental benefit by providing an overall net reduction of up to 765 tons of CO2 per year as well as significant reductions in NOx and SO2 emissions. Finally, by generating its electricity onsite, the facility will help reduce congestion on the area's over-stressed utility grid.

Because it is designed to capture waste fuel at the site and generate electricity while simultaneously reducing emissions, the system qualifies as a renewable power source. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is supporting the project with a grant of $250,000 in recognition of the energy and environmental benefits that the system is expected to deliver.

The new turnkey system will include Northern Power's SmartView(TM) monitoring and control software, which will have an on-site interface and provide NYPA with remote, web-based access from the Authority's offices in White Plains, New York.

Drawing from experience with other wastewater treatment facilities, Northern Power designed an optimal technology solution for the Owl's Head site. Because Stirling external combustion engines require less frequent maintenance than microturbine or reciprocating engine technology, the facility is expected to experience increased uptime and reduced parasitic system loads. The engines also offer the potential for reduced gas cleanup and less gas compression than other technologies, which can reduce installation costs.

The project is also part of a larger initiative on the part of the City of New York to voluntarily increase renewable energy capacity in an effort to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.

"This project demonstrates a new technology option for wastewater treatment plants, making it an exciting development not only for Owl's Head, but for treatment plants throughout the country," stated Jim Stover, Project Manager at Northern Power. "More and more businesses and public entities are taking advantage of their existing waste streams to create green energy; systems like this one can allow plants to reduce costs and achieve energy objectives simultaneously."

Northern Power is undertaking this project under its master implementation contract with NYPA to design and install distributed generation (DG) projects across the state. Northern Power is currently implementing multiple DG projects for NYPA with a combined contract value of over $5 million.

"This project serves to further enhance Northern's position as the premier provider of turnkey power systems," stated Darren Jamison, Chief Operating Officer at Northern Power. "Given our broad range of innovative technology solutions, we are well positioned to provide businesses and municipalities with reliable solutions that are cost effective as well as environmentally friendly."

About The New York Power Authority

The New York Power Authority is the nation's largest state-owned power organization. The Authority owns and operates 17 generating plants and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. It provides economical electricity to government agencies; municipal electric systems and rural electric cooperatives; job-producing companies and non-profit groups; private utilities for resale -- without profit -- to customers; and neighboring states, under federal requirements. The Authority is a national leader in promoting energy efficiency and the development of clean energy technologies and electric-drive vehicles.

About Northern Power Systems, Inc.

Northern Power Systems, Inc. designs, builds and installs reliable power solutions for commercial, industrial, government, and military customers. The company also conducts research and development in the areas of renewable energy, distributed generation and hydrogen technology. Since its founding in 1974, Northern has installed over 900 systems in 50 countries on all seven continents. Northern Power Systems, Inc. is headquartered in Waitsfield, Vermont with field offices in the New York metropolitan area, Northern and Southern California, and Houston. The company employs 150 people with turnkey design, engineering, construction, and customer-support capabilities. Northern Power Systems is a wholly owned operating unit of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. For more information, visit http://www.northernpower.com/ .

About Distributed Energy Systems Corporation

Distributed Energy Systems Corp. creates and delivers products and solutions to the emerging decentralized energy marketplace, giving users greater control over their energy cost, quality, and reliability. As the parent company of Proton Energy Systems, Inc. ( http://www.protonenergy.com/ ) and Northern Power Systems, Inc., Distributed Energy Systems delivers a combination of practical, ready-today energy solutions and the solid business platforms for capitalizing on the changing energy landscape. For more information, visit http://www.distributed-energy.com/ .

This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact, including statements concerning the proposed power generation system, may be deemed to be forward-looking information. Without limiting the foregoing, words such as "anticipates,""believes,""could,""estimate,""expect,""intend,""may,""might,""should,""will," and "would" and other forms of these words or similar words are intended to identify forward-looking information. Northern Power's and Distributed Energy's actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors. Northern Power Systems and Distributed Energy each disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those contained in Northern's and Distributed Energy's forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, failure of our products and systems to perform as specified or achieve commercial acceptance, the impact of competitive products and systems, and other factors detailed in Distributed Energy's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, and other filings Distributed Energy may make from time to time with the SEC.

Distributed Energy Systems Corporation

CONTACT: Amy Klinger, Marketing Manager, Northern Power Systems,+1-802-496-2955 Ext. 289, aklinger@northernpower.com, for Distributed EnergySystems Corporation

Web site: http://www.distributed-energy.com/http://www.northernpower.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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