FuelCellsWorks

$20 Million, 3.4 Megawatt Project Will Deploy the Most Advanced Fuel Cell Technology to Deliver Clean, Base-Load Class I Renewable Power to Connecticut Ratepayers

Today, Elemental Power Group, LLC, a Maryland based renewable energy development company, announces the approval of the Cube fuel cell project under the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund “Project 150” renewable energy program.

“The approval of the Cube project is a great milestone for EPG and for the state of Connecticut,” said Robert Babcock, President of Elemental Power Group. “Fuel Cells have an advantage over other types of clean energy technologies in that they provide base-load power twenty-four hours a day for years inside the load pockets where the power is needed,” Babcock said. “By showcasing this technology here, we can expand the deployment of these highly-efficient fuel cells into other urban areas where clean power is needed.”

When operational in mid-2010, the Cube project will provide 3.4 megawatts of quiet, clean, base-load class I renewable power directly to Connecticut Light and Power in urban southwest Connecticut, an area that has experienced electrical supply disruptions in the past. The project will provide enough power for approximately 2,600 homes 24 hours a day for 20 years under the contract approved by the state.

The fuel cell equipment will be provided by FuelCell Energy, Inc. of Danbury, CT and the project will inject approximately $20 million into the Connecticut economy during its construction. Cube will provide a further $2 million each year to the local economy in operating expenses, tax payments, and other purchases.

Project construction is scheduled to start in early 2010 with project completion in the third quarter of that year.

Elemental Power Group, LLC (“EPG”) is an independent developer of renewable energy projects located near Washington DC. EPG focuses its activities on non-wind renewable energy technologies, especially solar and fuel cell projects. Through its subsidiary company, EPG-Fuel Cell, LLC, EPG endeavors to identify locations, design, permit, contract, finance, build and operate fuel cell power plants in locations where such technology qualifies as a renewable energy resource.

Fuel Cells are one of the few truly “urban renewable” technologies that are commercially available and technologically proven. Running on a variety of fuels, fuel cells produce electricity electrochemically and without combustion. The lack of combustion means that there are practically no harmful emissions from fuel cell power plants and their emissions of carbon dioxide are dramatically reduced. This, coupled with their relatively small footprint, gives them great advantages in energy production over other renewable technologies in an urban environment. For more information on the company, and its activities, please visit on the web www.elemental-power.com.

Store will be First in Massachusetts and Second at Whole Foods Market to Generate Bulk of Power with Fuel Cell

SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass.– The new Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI) slated to open in Dedham, Mass., this fall will be the first supermarket in Massachusetts to generate approximately 90 percent of its power on-site with an ultra-clean 400 kW fuel cell from UTC Power. UTC Power is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company headquartered in Connecticut.

The new 60,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market under construction at Legacy Place, Dedham, will generate approximately 90 percent of its electricity and nearly 100 percent of its hot water using fuel cell technology. This will be the second fuel cell system installed by Whole Foods Market as an on-site power source. In March of 2008, Whole Foods Market became the first supermarket in the world to generate most of its power with a fuel cell, installing a 200 kW UTC Power unit at its Glastonbury, Conn., store.

Fuel cells are one of the cleanest energy-generation sources available in the world and meet the strictest U.S. emission standards. Hydrogen and oxygen are combined in an electrochemical process to produce electricity, heat and water.

More than half of the energy potential in traditional power plants is lost to the atmosphere as waste heat or in line transmission losses. In contrast, the 400 kW UTC Power fuel cell system captures its waste energy for local cooling and heating. Whole Foods Market’s use of a fuel cell system versus a conventional power plant has carbon dioxide-mitigating benefits equal to planting more than 175 acres of trees and reductions in nitrogen oxide emissions equal to removing more than 90 cars from the roadways per year (1).

“Whole Foods Market is excited to be able to use this clean and highly efficient technology at our new Dedham store to help reduce our impact on the environment and lessen our overall energy demands from traditional sources,” said Kathy Loftus, Whole Foods Market Global Leader of Sustainable Engineering, Maintenance and Energy. “We strongly believe in green power for the long term, so installing the larger fuel cell is ideal — it works with the vision of all involved, especially the community it will serve.”

UTC Power will install, own, operate and maintain the PureCell(R) Model 400 fuel cell system, which is also capable of providing standby power if there’s a grid failure to allow the store to operate without disruption and to avoid costly food spoilage.

The fuel cell project was approved for a $400,000 grant from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Large Onsite Renewables Initiative (LORI), which is a program that awards grants for feasibility studies as well as design and construction projects for qualifying renewable energy systems greater than 10 kW.

Whole Foods Market, America’s first certified organic grocer, is a mission driven company with core values that include caring about the community and environment. The Company works hard to be a leader in environmental stewardship through various environmental initiatives including in-store composting for food waste and compostable paper products, sustainable building practices and offsetting 100 percent of its electricity through renewable energy credits. Each store also has a Green Mission Team, comprised of dedicated Team Members who act as a task force to inform and improve green actions for their store.

UTC Power, based in South Windsor, Conn., is a world leader in developing and producing fuel cells for on-site power at buildings and for transportation applications. For more information, visit www.utcpower.com

Company receives Technology Leadership Award for Renewable and Alternative Power Generation

Agni Energie (“AGNI”), a global leader in the field of renewable and alternative clean energy technology, has received the regional Technology Leadership Award for Renewable and Alternative Power Generation from Frost & Sullivan.

The award was received by AGNI at Frost & Sullivan’s 2009 South East Asia Industrial Technologies Awards ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on April 2, 2009.

The Technology Leadership Award is bestowed on a company that has pioneered the development and introduction of an innovative technology into the market; a technology that has either impacted or has the potential to impact several market sectors.

For AGNI, receiving the Technology Leadership Award for the renewable energy (RE) category is a significant milestone as it is an acknowledgement of the company’s efforts in spearheading innovation in the renewable energy industry, in Malaysia and South East Asia. The fundamentals of our business lie in the strength and skills of our people as well as the competitiveness of our technology. We have over 50 patents to date and this recognition simply stamps further our commitment not just to Malaysia but indeed to our business globally to be a leading technology provider, project developer and operator of renewable energy power plants.

It honours AGNI’s steadfast efforts in spearheading innovation not just in mature markets but also in those where the growth of renewable energy is relatively new.

This is the second year running  in which Frost & Sullivan has honoured outstanding efforts of a range of companies from the Environment & Building Technologies, Energy & Power Systems, Industrial Automation & Process Control, Electronics & Security, and Measurement & Instrumentation sectors.

In this annual best practices programme, the company screens the regional market to showcase extraordinary case studies and bring to fore those companies which have excelled beyond market average.

The awards recognised both technology innovators as well as companies that have successfully implemented their growth strategies, even during these challenging times, to gain market share and customer mind share. The awards are synonymous with Frost & Sullivan’s in-depth analysis and coverage of these industries, and they are carefully reviewed and evaluated to reflect the current market landscape inclusive of the emerging technology trends.

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About AGNI Inc
AGNI Inc is an industry leader in designing, developing, manufacturing and operating small to mid-sized renewable energy plant. As a leader in the field of alternative clean energy generation technology development, the company is dedicated to providing high efficiency, low emission on-site systems delivering significant environment and commercial benefits to its customers. A profitable fuel cell and alternative energy technology company, AGNI develops, manufactures and in some instances, operates plants on “Build Own Operate” (BOO) or “Build Own Operate Transfer” (BOOT) basis, comprising the following products.

• Fuel Cells
• Hydrogen Power Plant Systems
• Micro CHP Systems
• Fuel Reformers
• Bio Fuel – Bioethanol/Biodiesel
• Gasification
• Biomass derived Gasoline and Diesel
• Synthesis

The business focus is on grid-connected, distributed on-site generation, automotive, backup.

AGNI’s range of power generation technologies enable significantly more efficient electrical power production and also the recovery of excess heat which may be converted into hot water, steam and chilled water for air-conditioning or used to produce even more electrical power. Our technology can be configured to produce potable water as a by-product, and to recover CO2, therefore without emitting hazardous greenhouse gases.

AGNI was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Singapore. The company has operations in Portugal, Spain, the US, UK and Malaysia, with registered offices in Norway, Poland, and Mauritius. It has a manufacturing facility of 120,000 square feet in Shah Alam, Malaysia (AGNI’s largest operations), 18,000 square feet in Connecticut, US, and a fully automated manufacturing facility of 160,000 square feet in Montemor, Portugal, which is expected to be completed in 2009. Today, the company houses 211 employees including 105 engineers and scientists.

IntertechPira a leading conference and research organization, in conjunction with the National Hydrogen Association, is pleased to announce the date and venue for Hydrogen Production and Storage 2009.

Portland, Maine — Set for September 30 – August 2, 2009 at the Marriot Washington in Washington, DC, H2PS 2009 will provide an opportunity for developers, producers and users to discuss the viability and commercial potential of near-term technologies for producing and storing hydrogen, both on a large and a small scale. Speakers and session leaders will provide a close look at the market and examine the economic and technical constraints and stimulants for each production or storage method. Presentations will also address technical and commercial hurdles, the cost of implementing a new infrastructure, market and consumer acceptance issues and the timetable of events necessary to transition to a Hydrogen Economy.
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“We are very pleased to be working in conjunction with the National Hydrogen Association (NHA) for this event,” said Senior Conference Director, Christine Groff. “We are also excited to return to the original venue for IntertechPira’s Hydrogen Production & Storage Forum, Washington DC. With a new administration in place and subsequent changes in energy policy, this conference and the DC location are both timely and relevant.”

Now in its 15th year, this international conference is designed for business development managers, R&D specialists, technology planners, financial officers, venture capitalists and investors in the energy production, transmission, conversion and distribution industries. In addition, anyone connected with applications where hydrogen plays a key role, such as transportation, electric power generation and mobile battery-powered devices such as laptop computers and cell phones would benefit from attending.

Key topics to be discussed include:

* Industry overview and market potential
* Production methods
* Hydrogen storage
* Transportation and infrastructure

One pre-conference seminar will be held prior to the conference on Tuesday, September 29. Several networking opportunities will also be provided.

With maturing global efforts for a wholesale conversion to hydrogen, and a growing awareness of the many efficient, environmentally sound and low cost methods available to produce and store hydrogen, Hydrogen Production and Storage 2009 will provide a close look at the most viable technologies and systems and assess what is required to meet these objectives.