Capstone Microturbines Continue to Power Through Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Now Maria
September 22 2017 - 8:30AM
Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com)
(Nasdaq:CPST), the world's leading clean technology manufacturer of
microturbine energy systems, announced today that the majority of
their microturbine based distributed generation installations have
powered through Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and now Maria, much like
they did with Hurricane Sandy back in 2012, with little or no
downtime.
Both Hurricane Harvey and Irma have killed more than a hundred
people, destroyed thousands of homes and caused flooding that has
lasted weeks in some areas. The hurricanes also exposed the
failings of the aging utility and sewer systems that were unable to
cope with the heavy rainfall, flooding and downed power lines. As a
result, electric utilities experienced wide-scale outages and some
wastewater treatment plants released untreated sewage into streets,
rivers and homes of affected towns and counties.
Hurricane Harvey caused substantial electrical outages as power
plants and transmission infrastructure—particularly in South Texas
and along the Gulf Coast—had been severely affected by high winds
and significant flooding. At its peak, more than 10,000 megawatts
(MW) of electricity generating capacity in the Electric Reliability
Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid and a substantial number of
transmission and distribution lines experienced forced outages.
Capstone reported that the overwhelming majority of their
customer’s installations in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Dominican
Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands not only survived the storms
but are fully operational providing critical power, which in some
cases provides the power needed to pump water. This result is
similar to what Capstone microturbines did back in late October
2012 when Hurricane Sandy devastated the states of New York and New
Jersey and a then estimated 93, out of 95 microturbines, remained
fully operational.
“Five years removed from Hurricane Sandy, RSP Systems, our
distributor for the greater New York area, is a top five-revenue
producer worldwide for Capstone,” said Darren Jamison, Capstone
President and Chief Executive Officer. “You can clearly see the
dramatic impact in RSP’s purchases from the year before Sandy to
today’s level as many more business became receptive to the idea of
onsite distributed generation as a way to harden infrastructure and
provide not only both money savings and onsite generation but also
critical emergency backup power during large-scale power outages,”
added Mr. Jamison.
RSP Systems experienced explosive growth immediately following
Hurricane Sandy in 2012 with purchases from Capstone Turbine
jumping from less than $500 thousand in 2012 to approximately $3
million the following year in 2013. Furthermore, purchases remained
at the elevated $3 million level for each of the following four
years from RSP Systems until 2017 when purchases topped the $5
million mark.
“This is the most severe weather activity the U.S. has
experienced since Sandy back in 2012 and it's truly heartbreaking
to watch the news coverage. However, from a product standpoint it
is heartening to receive positive reports from the dozens of
Capstone oil and gas installations in Texas and to hear that the
lights are still on for some sensitive Capstone customers like
Margaritaville in St. Thomas and the Plaza Extra East Super Market
in St. Croix. I can only imagine the line outside of the Popeye’s
Louisiana Kitchen restaurant in Puerto Rico that is operating
despite the widespread local area blackout,” stated Mr.
Jamison.
“At Capstone, our hearts and prayers are with those families
impacted by the terrible devastation and widespread loss of life
and property, but these events should remind us all how fragile our
utility infrastructure can be and the value of adopting onsite
distributed generation,” concluded Mr. Jamison.
With the resiliency of microturbines, most Capstone customers
experienced minimal downtime, if any at all, and the vast majority
of microturbine sites in affected areas remained fully operational.
In the case of St. Thomas, the one resort that was able to continue
operating after the hurricane was the one with its 1.8 MW gas-fired
microturbine power plant. It was the only area resort with both
power and water after the storm. It is now estimated that it could
take three to six months for some businesses and resort hotels to
re-open their doors in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
About Capstone Turbine Corporation
Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com)
(Nasdaq:CPST) is the world's leading producer of low-emission
microturbine systems and was the first to market commercially
viable microturbine energy products. Capstone has shipped over
9,000 Capstone Microturbine systems to customers worldwide. These
award-winning systems have logged millions of documented runtime
operating hours. Capstone is a member of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's Combined Heat and Power
Partnership, which is committed to improving the efficiency of the
nation's energy infrastructure and reducing emissions of pollutants
and greenhouse gases. A UL-Certified ISO 9001:2015 and ISO
14001:2015 certified company, Capstone is headquartered in
the Los Angeles area with sales and/or service centers in
the United States, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and
Asia.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as
that term is used in the federal securities laws, about the
advantages and reliability of our microturbines and increased
acceptance of our technology given the recent hurricanes.
Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as
"expects," "objective," "intend," "targeted," "plan" and similar
phrases. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous
assumptions, risks and uncertainties described in Capstone's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that may cause
Capstone's actual results to be materially different from any
future results expressed or implied in such statements. Capstone
cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
release. Capstone undertakes no obligation, and specifically
disclaims any obligation, to release any revisions to any
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
"Capstone" and "Capstone Microturbine" are registered trademarks
of Capstone Turbine Corporation. All other trademarks
mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Capstone Turbine CorporationInvestor and investment
media inquiries:818-407-3628ir@capstoneturbine.com
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