Turnkey on-site power system will power ground transceivers transmitting
critical data to regional air traffic controllers
WAITSFIELD, Vt., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northern Power Systems,
a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: DESC), has been
selected by Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group Inc. (Parsons), to
supply three Northern TelePower(R) remote power systems for the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) Capstone Ground Based Transceiver (GBT) Program
in Southeast Alaska. Designed to reduce the chances of mid-air collisions and
weather-related accidents, the GBTs will transmit critical data such as
aircraft elevation and location via satellite to the regional air traffic
controllers. The transceivers will be deployed at remote locations around the
greater Southeast Alaska area.
Northern's turnkey solution will consist of two different system
configurations. The first system configuration is only required at one site
and will feature a 7,200-watt photovoltaic (PV) array mounted on the roof of
the system shelter and dual 15 kW propane gas-fired generator sets. Designed
to withstand winds of up to 120 miles per hour, the PV array will generate
enough energy to service approximately 66% of the FAA's critical load. The
dual gensets will account for the remaining 34% of the load.
The system is also equipped with a 4800 amp-hour battery bank. Sized to
last for 12 years, the battery bank is capable of providing a nominal three
days of system operation in the unlikely event that all three sources of power
generation fail. Northern calculates that the system will consume
approximately 530 U.S. gallons of liquid propane on an annual basis.
The other system configuration will be designed to provide power to the
two remaining sites that have available utility power, but due to remote and
harsh nature of the sites, the power sources are less than reliable.
Northern's systems will serve as robust back up power systems to the available
utility grid to ensure 24/7 power for the FAA's equipment. These systems will
be identical to the first TelePower system in every aspect except that an
additional rectifier bank will be used for the incoming utility power and
there are no PV arrays included. If, for some reason, the source of utility
power ceases to be available, these systems will be "PV ready," requiring
minimal installation to integrate PV arrays for capturing solar power.
"For obvious reasons, the FAA required a system that eliminates all single
points of failure," noted Mike Brennan, vice president of Northern's
integrated power systems business unit. "To meet this requirement, we have
designed a highly reliable, 24/7 power system that includes multiple sources
of power generation, multiple rectifier banks and a Northern SC-300 system
controller managing the load sharing between the various power generating
assets. This is a great example of the type of system Northern is ideally
suited to design and deliver," he added.
Northern met the demanding criteria dictated by the FAA and the rugged
environment of southeastern Alaska. The systems will be housed in dual 20-foot
ISO shipping containers for easy and cost effective shipping. Because all
three sites are accessible only by helicopter, Northern designed the systems
specifically for transport by this means. The remote power system is capable
of servicing the FAA's total average continuous load of 900 watts, in addition
to system environmental and system controller loads.
About Parsons
Parsons, a leader in many diversified markets, such as facilities,
industrial processes, communications, infrastructure, transportation, water,
advanced technology, environmental and planning, provides technical and
management solutions to private industrial customers worldwide as well as
federal, regional and local government agencies. For more information about
Parsons, visit http://www.parsons.com.
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 800 systems in 45 countries on all seven
continents. Northern Power Systems, Inc. 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 (http://www.protonenergy.com)
and Northern Power Systems (http://www.northernpower.com), 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'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'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, 2004, and other
filings Distributed Energy may make from time to time with the SEC.
SOURCE Distributed Energy Systems Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.northernpower.com
http://www.distributed-energy.com
http://www.protonenergy.com
CONTACT:
Distributed Energy Systems Corp., Investor
Relations, +1-203-678-2355; or Marilynn Meek, General Info, of
Financial Relations Board, +1-212-445-8451, for Distributed
Energy Systems Corp.
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