WAITSFIELD, Vt., Aug 30, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall

 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Northern Power, a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: DESC), a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to continue development of key modular construction technologies necessary to build 5-megawatt to 8-megawatt wind turbines. In announcing the $750,000 award, Northern Power said the project builds on a Phase 1 SBIR design study recently completed by the company, which confirmed the viability of these enabling, modular construction approaches.

Wind power represents the fastest growing segment of the world's energy markets, and this rapid growth has led to a significant increase in the power rating and size of wind turbines. Large turbines currently being developed for on-shore and off-shore applications offer economies for utility-scale wind farms, further lowering the cost and environmental impact of creating significant sources of alternative energy.

With blade lengths of 60 meters or greater and tower heads often weighing more than 450 tons, shipping, installing and maintaining larger turbines is becoming a serious challenge.

Northern Power's Phase 2 contract with the DOE covers manufacturing details and assembly techniques for permanent magnet generators and power converters, in order to improve the viability of large-scale wind power both on and off shore. The project's emphasis on modular designs should permit easier subassembly transportation, less weight per component, partial power capabilities and more flexibility in providing on-site service.

"By providing solutions to the wind industry's current challenges, Northern Power hopes that large-scale wind turbines will make a more significant contribution to meeting America's growing energy needs," stated Peter Mattila, Business Development Manager of Northern Power. "The work we are undertaking will help the industry meet the American Wind Energy Association and DOE's recently announced goal of producing 20% of the country's electrical supply using wind energy."

Northern Power's president, Darren Jamison, agreed, stating: "Over the last several years, our wind experts have focused on developing large-scale, direct drive wind turbine generator and power converter systems to address the cost, utility interconnection and equipment implementation issues that are prominent in the multi-megawatt wind market today. We look forward to completing those development efforts and putting the fruits of those labors to work, helping to further the cause of technologically advanced, renewable wind energy solutions."

About the SBIR

The SBIR program encourages small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from the commercialization of their products. By including qualified small businesses in the nation's R&D arena, high-tech innovation is stimulated and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs.

SBIR is a highly competitive, three-phase program. Phase I is the startup phase, during which exploration is funded based on the technical merit or feasibility of a technology. Phase II grants enable development of the technology and evaluation of its commercial potential. Phase III moves the product from the laboratory into the marketplace.

Since its enactment in 1982, as part of the Small Business Innovation Development Act, SBIR has helped thousands of small businesses to compete for federal research and development awards. Their contributions have enhanced the nation's defense, protected our environment, advanced health care, and improved our ability to manage information and manipulate data.

About Northern Power

Northern Power designs, builds, installs and services reliable power solutions for commercial, industrial, government, and military customers worldwide. The company also conducts research and development in the areas of renewable energy, distributed generation and hydrogen technology. Northern Power was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Waitsfield, VT, with field offices in California, New York City and Houston. Northern Power is a wholly owned operating unit of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. For more information, visit http://www.northernpower.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 may be deemed to be forward-looking information. Without limiting the foregoing, words such as "could," "may," "will" and "would" and other forms of these words or similar words are intended to identify forward-looking information. Northern'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 June 30, 2006, and other filings Distributed Energy may make from time to time with the SEC.

SOURCE Distributed Energy Systems Corp.

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