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WAITSFIELD, Vt., Oct. 26 - Northern Power, a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: DESC), has been awarded a contract to install and commission three additional NorthWind 100(R) wind turbines for Anchorage-based Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC). The contract brings the total number of turbines AVEC has purchased from Northern Power to 10, representing what is believed to be the largest investment in wind turbines made in Alaska in a single year.
The Northern Power Products division will also supply and install wind turbine Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems for the villages of Toksook Bay and Kasigluk. These systems will leverage Northern Power's SmartView(R) software, which will allow AVEC to monitor and control the wind turbines in both villages, as well as monitor the overall power generation system assets. The combined value for the turbine sale, the SCADA systems and other value-add services is $1.8 million.
AVEC's Wind Program
The upcoming installation of the initial NorthWind turbines contributes to AVEC's initiative to integrate renewable wind power into more of the isolated Alaskan communities to which it provides electric power. The 10 wind turbines ordered to date will generate electric power for four of the 52 remote communities served by AVEC, including the communities of Toksook Bay, Savoonga, Gambell and Kasigluk, located in western Alaska.
The NorthWind turbines are being integrated into a long-term diesel power plant and tank farm upgrade program by AVEC. The first installation -- at Toksook Bay -- includes a three-turbine array integrated with fuel-efficient diesel generators to generate power in a new, automated power plant, all of which will be monitored via Northern Power's SmartView software and the associated SCADA system.
Working with the generators at Toksook Bay, the three new turbines will produce approximately 675,000 kWh annually, replacing over 30% of the energy normally generated by diesel and, at current fuel prices, providing an estimated annual fuel cost savings of approximately $100,000.
"The NorthWind 100 turbines and SmartView software represent the ideal solution for rural communities where fuel is difficult and costly to deliver," noted Brett Pingree, project manager for Northern Power. "They provide non-polluting renewable electrical energy, are field-proven to withstand the harsh arctic environment, and allow AVEC to easily monitor and control their systems."
"The AVEC wind power installations are an excellent example of how to capitalize on the cost-benefit characteristics of our products in a demanding isolated grid environment," said Jonathan Lynch, Chief Technology Officer for Northern Power. "And with AVEC's decision to select our SmartView software for their broader monitoring needs, we are confident our technology will provide them with greater control over their generating assets and enhanced system performance."
About AVEC
Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AVEC) is a non-profit electric utility that serves residents in 52 locations throughout rural Alaska. AVEC covers the largest area of any electric cooperative in the world. The Cooperative's 52 member villages span from as far north as Kivalina, to as far south as Old Harbor on Kodiak Island, and as far west as Gambell on St. Lawrence Island (within sight of Siberia), to as far east as Minto, located approximately 80 miles west of Fairbanks. The total population served by AVEC is over 22,000 people. AVEC is a customer-owned cooperative, financed by member equity and by loans from the Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since 2001 it has also received financial awards from the Denali Commission for infrastructure improvement. Through AVEC's efforts, the introduction of stable electricity has brought about many changes to rural Alaska, including better health care, improved housing, schools, water and sewer systems, improved communications and new or improved businesses.
About Northern Power
Northern Power, a Distributed Energy Systems company, offers reliable power systems, services and products to commercial, industrial, government, utility, 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 Power has installed over 900 systems in 50 countries on all seven continents. Northern Power is headquartered in Waitsfield, Vermont and employs 100 people with engineering, fulfillment, and customer-support capabilities. The company is a wholly owned operating unit of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. For more information, visit http://www.northernpower.com.
About Distributed Energy Systems Corp.
Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: DESC) 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 concerning Northern Power's and Distributed Energy's goals, guidance, revenue projections and other statements that are not statements of historical fact, including statements concerning the performance of remote power systems, 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 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 Proton's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005, and other filings Distributed Energy may make from time to time with the SEC.
