Source: Beacon Power Corporation

Beacon Power Corporation, a leading provider of fast-responding energy storage products and services to support a more stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid, recently hosted a successful inauguration and facility tour at the Company's newly completed 20-megawatt (MW) flywheel energy storage plant in Stephentown, New York. More than 75 guests attended the event, including state and regional officials, industry analysts, media representatives and area residents.

Beacon's 20 MW Stephentown plant is the largest advanced energy storage facility currently operating in North America. It utilizes 200 high-speed Beacon flywheels to provide fast-response frequency regulation services to the New York grid with zero emissions and no fuel consumption. When compared to other methods, it offers the cleanest, most cost-effective solution for providing frequency regulation services thus far commercially deployed.

"The inauguration of our 20 MW flywheel plant is the culmination of tremendous teamwork, both within our company and among the many agencies and officials who supported this landmark project," said Bill Capp, Beacon Power president and CEO. "We look forward to providing many years of clean, fast-responding regulation services on the New York grid -- and to the expected revenue increase when pay-for-performance market tariffs are implemented."

"New York's competitive marketplace for electricity provides fertile ground for energy innovations such as Beacon's flywheel system," said Stephen G. Whitley, president and CEO of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). "Energy storage systems are critical to our future and it's great to see pioneering technology bring new solutions to our needs. We look forward to continuing to work with Beacon Power to serve the needs of New York."

"We've set a goal of meeting 45% of New York's electricity needs by the year 2015 through a combination of investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy," said Francis J. Murray Jr., president and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). "We know that's an ambitious target, but Beacon Power's flywheel plant is exactly the kind of technology investment we need if we're going to accomplish this important objective."