May 24, 2010

NYSERDA Awards $2 million to Beacon Power’s Stephentown Flywheel Plant

Advanced Technology Smoothes Grid Operation, Paves Way for More Alternative Energy Transmission

Albany, May 24, 2010—The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today announced that it has signed a $2 million contract with Beacon Power Corporation to support construction of an energy-storage plant in Stephentown that will provide more stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid operation.

Francis J. Murray, Jr., NYSERDA president and CEO said: “Advanced energy-storage technologies like the one Beacon is incorporating into its plant are essential for New York to achieve substantial reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions and energy use.  This Beacon project is a unique initiative that will help protect our environment, strengthen our clean energy economy, and demonstrate New York’s leadership in developing smart grid systems that will increase our energy efficiency.”

“NYSERDA is one of the most innovative and forward-looking energy organizations in the country,” said Bill Capp, Beacon president and CEO. “Starting more than five years ago when we began working together to demonstrate that flywheel energy storage could provide clean, responsive frequency regulation, right up to today’s significant funding agreement for Stephentown, NYSERDA has recognized the efficiency and value that our technology can bring to the state and its electricity users.”

Beacon’s 20 MW flywheel energy storage plant is designed to balance power demands by absorbing electricity from the grid when there is too much and storing it as kinetic energy in a matrix of flywheel systems. When there is not enough power to meet demand, the flywheels inject energy back into the grid, thus helping to maintain proper electricity frequency.

Compared to conventional fossil fuel-powered generators that are throttled up and down as needed to provide grid frequency regulation, flywheel plants will not consume any fuel, and do not directly produce CO2 greenhouse gas emissions or other air pollutants, such as NOX or SO2.   Because the flywheel units are underground, with only the support systems in containers above ground, the energy site blends into the rural, forested surrounding hills, but are strategically located to serve major grid corridors.

Beacon, which first demonstrated its flywheels in a small-scale Montgomery County, NYSERDA-funded project, broke ground at the Stephentown site in November 2009, after the project won approvals by the New York State Public Service Commission and the New York Independent System Operator as a welcome addition to smooth grid operation. 

Beacon Power Corporation designs, develops and is commercializing advanced products and services to support stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid operation. Beacon’s Smart Energy Matrix^TM, now in production, is a non-polluting, megawatt-scale, utility-grade, flywheel-based solution designed to provide less expensive, more sustainable and effective frequency regulation services to the nation’s power grid. The Company’s business strategy is both to supply frequency regulation services from its own plants and to sell systems directly to utilities or grid operators in parts of North America and selected international markets. Beacon is a publicly traded company with its research, development and manufacturing facility in the U.S. For more information, visit www.beaconpower.com.

NYSERDA offers programs, technical support and funding to help make our world more energy efficient. NYSERDA works with consumers, businesses, municipalities, and research institutions to create clean energy solutions, increase energy efficiency, protect the environment and save money.

CONTACT:
Jeffrey Gordon, NYSERDA 
518-862-1090 ext. 3544
jrg@nyserda.ny.gov