CWP Clipper Reg S

RNS Number:5193S
Clipper Windpower PLC
17 April 2008







                THE CROWN ESTATE TO PURCHASE THE WORLD'S LARGEST

                OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE FROM CLIPPER WINDPOWER FOR

                            DEPLOYMENT IN UK WATERS


LONDON - April 17, 2008 - Clipper Windpower Plc ("Clipper") and The Crown Estate
are pleased to announce that The Crown Estate has signed an agreement to
purchase Clipper's prototype of the world's largest offshore wind turbine,
Clipper's 7.5MW MBE turbine, also referred to as the Britannia project.


This investment will allow The Crown Estate to gain firsthand knowledge of the
challenges facing the development of wind turbines specialised for deep water
marine deployment as the process of engaging industry to develop the next phase
of offshore wind farms begins. If the industry is to reach the current delivery
target of a total capacity of up to 33GW by 2020, this kind of support and
research will be invaluable.


In addition to a unique and diverse property portfolio, encompassing urban and
rural estates, the marine interests of The Crown Estate include almost the
entire UK territorial seabed out to 12 nautical miles and around 55 per cent of
the UK's coastal foreshore. In addition, The Crown Estate has the rights to
lease seabed for the generation of renewable energy on the continental shelf
within the Renewable Energy Zone which extends out to approximately 200 nautical
miles.


Speaking in London, Rob Hastings, Director of the Marine Estates at The Crown
Estate, said: "It is widely recognised that offshore wind energy will provide
the majority of the required contribution needed to ensure that the UK meets its
demanding renewable energy target to supply 15 per cent of our consumed energy
from renewable sources by 2020.


"We believe that our support to the Britannia project through the acquisition of
this purposely designed new generation offshore turbine will drive forward the
development of turbine technology designed for the challenges of the offshore
environment. This is an important step in the future of offshore wind and a
great opportunity to help establish a new industrial base of activity to advance
the UK's leadership in renewable energy."


Wind turbines, such as the Clipper 7.5MW MBE offshore turbine, will advance
industry technology in line with the forecasted upsurge in European offshore
wind development in 2011 - 2012. The MBE prototype turbine will be assembled and
tested at Clipper's Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind in Blyth in the North
East of England, strategically located to serve the offshore turbine development
zones and their related load centres.


"We are very pleased to be working with The Crown Estate to realise this
exciting project," said James Dehlsen, Chairman and CEO of Clipper Windpower.


"Clipper's current Liberty 2.5 MW turbine is the fourth successful generation of
turbine technology our team has created, and it provides a technology platform
which scales advantageously to meet the turbine size needed to help make
offshore wind economically viable. This platform enables us to accelerate the
development of this vital turbine technology at a time when the urgencies of
energy security and global warming are driving the transformation of energy
priorities and resource use."


The Britannia project has recently received the support of One NorthEast, the
Regional Development Agency for the North East of England.


Clipper Windpower is working closely with One NorthEast's Blyth-based New and
Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC), which will provide the project with engineering
and test facilities for blades, generators and drivetrains. Funding provided by
One NorthEast also will support the development of Clipper's turbine supply
chain and related manufacturing facilities.


                                    - Ends -


For more information contact:


Clipper Windpower

Isabel Lutgendorf, Investor Relations +44(0) 207 840 9581

Patrick d'Ancona/Charlotte Kirkham, Financial Press +44(0) 207 153 1547/1531

Mary McCann-Gates, Trade and Business Press +1 (661) 301-0400


The Crown Estate

Katie King +44 (0) 20 7851 5009


About The Crown Estate

The Crown Estate is an estate valued at more than �7 billion, including
substantial blocks of urban property, over 120,000 hectares (300,000 acres) of
agricultural land in England, Scotland and Wales, and around half the foreshore,
together with the seabed out to the 12 mile territorial limit.

Every year it pays its entire revenue surplus to the Treasury for the benefit of
all UK taxpayers. In 2006/07 this amounted to over�200 million.

As owners, managers and guardians of one of the world's most important and
diverse urban, rural and marine property portfolios The Crown Estate is
underpinned by three core values of commercialism, integrity and stewardship.


The Crown Estate's marine properties include more than half of the UK's
foreshore (17,000 km), 55 per cent of the beds of tidal rivers and estuaries and
almost the entire seabed out to the 12 nautical mile territorial limit around
the UK. It also includes the rights to the natural resources in the UK
Continental Shelf, with the exception of oil, coal and gas.


The Crown Estate manages its assets on a commercial basis, guided by the
principles of sustainable development and social responsibility. We are
committed to sustainable and long-term management of these unique assets.


In 1999 The Crown Estate established its programme of Marine Stewardship to
provide funding to support practical projects, relevant research, and other
initiatives that improve the status and management of the marine estate.


About One NorthEast

One NorthEast is the Regional Development Agency for the North East of England
and is responsible to Central Government for the sustainable economic
development and growth of the region as well as the development and
implementation of the region's economic strategy. Set up in April 1999 to help
the people of the North East create and sustain jobs, prosperity and a higher
quality of life, the Agency is responsible to the people of the North East and
to the Government.


About NaREC

The New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) was established in 2002 as a Centre
for Excellence for new and renewable energy technologies. The company was
incorporated in February 2003 as a knowledge-based services organisation. Based
in Blyth, Northumberland, NaREC is working to enable the move towards a low
carbon economy on a National and International scale by assisting the
development and market growth of new energy technologies. NaREC is one of the
five centres of excellence set up by the North East's regional development
agency, One NorthEast.


NaREC encompasses a range of research, testing and development facilities across
the spectrum of energy industries. A specialised team of technical and
engineering consultants with a wide range of practical experience work to
support the development and testing facilities at NaREC, helping to bridge the
gap between innovation and realisation. NaREC's unique world-class facilities
offer testing and development of large wind turbine blades, marine renewables,
offshore and subsea equipment, micro-renewables and high voltage electrical
equipment. NaREC also has facilities and consultancy expertise for the
development and integration of large and small-scale renewables into the energy
mix including assistance with small scale embedded generation and power systems
analysis.


About Clipper Windpower


Clipper Windpower, www.clipperwind.com, is a rapidly growing company engaged in
wind energy technology, turbine manufacturing, and wind project development.
With offices in the USA (California, Colorado, Iowa and Maryland), Mexico,
Denmark and the United Kingdom, and a ISO9001:2000 QMS Certified 330,000 square
foot manufacturing and assembly facility located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the
company designs advanced wind turbines, manufactures its 2.5-MW Liberty wind
turbine and actively develops wind power generating projects in the Americas and
Europe. Clipper is a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange's
Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Clipper's ticker symbol is CWP.

The ordinary shares of Clipper Windpower Plc are traded on the Alternative
Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange and are not registered under the
U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Such shares may not be offered or sold
to residents of the United States or to persons acting on their behalf, or to
other persons who are "United States Persons" within the meaning of Regulation S
as promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, unless such shares have been
registered under the Securities Act or there is an available exemption from
registration.



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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