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CLIFTON, N.J., May 3, 2002 -- H Power Corp., a fuel cell development company, announced that it has installed next-generation residential cogeneration units (RCU) at four U.S. rural electric cooperatives, as part of its beta test program.
Working closely with its marketing partner Energy Co-Opportunity, Inc. (ECO), H Power installed RCUs at Rappahannock Electric Cooperative in Bowling Green, Virginia; Delta-Montrose Electric Association in Montrose, Colorado; Enerstar Power Corporation in Paris, Illinois; and Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative in Kearney, Missouri. Each cooperative has installed and is operating the Company's newest RCU, a 4.5-kilowatt proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system powered by propane and designed to provide both electricity and heat for use in homes and small businesses.
The four cooperatives represent approximately 129,000 consumers within the four states in which they operate. These cooperatives are among the 302 member-owners of ECO. H Power will continue to install additional units at ECO member sites through May of this year, to complete the deliveries under its beta test program. Each cooperative also participated in the alpha test phase using a previous design of the RCU.
The RCU installed at Rappahannock provides stand-alone power and heat for the 2,000 square-foot functional office facility with the grid available for use as back up. The unit has been in nearly continuous operation since its installation in early March, in a load-following mode that allows it to react continuously to changes in the power requirements of the building.
"H Power has made significant improvements in the reliability and efficiency of the new RCU unit," said Gary Schwartz, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative's Director of SCADA, Load Management, and Telecommunications, and manager of the co-op's fuel cell project. "We are very pleased with the internal design and layout, and the fuel cell's overall operation, reliability and dependability."
"I'm very pleased with the new fuel cell," said Mike Torres, General Manager of Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative in Kearney, Missouri. "It's functioning very efficiently and very reliably. Since we've turned it on, the fuel cell just runs - and that's just what everyone thinks of when they imagine what a fuel cell should be. The H Power fuel cell is a very good source of energy. It's part of the overall menu of energy services we need to provide to our consumers. This latest installation will go a long way to help promote the fuel cell and demonstrate the potential of the technology."
"The hands-on participation of electric cooperatives in the fuel cell test program is a tremendous advantage for H Power," says Bill Cetti, CEO and President of Energy Co-Opportunity (ECO). "The co-ops understand the most efficient and effective ways to connect a power source to a load and integrate it into a utility system. Their pragmatic observations are speeding the development of a consumer-ready product."
"The initial results of our testing at the four installations have been very promising," commented H. Frank Gibbard, Chief Executive Officer of H Power Corp. "The units' operating performances to date have exceeded our expectations, confirming our efforts in improving the RCU's design and performance. Tests of the RCU's at ECO member sites are providing results that are accelerating our efforts to commercialize fuel cell systems; and they are providing us and ECO valuable experience in installation and product support. We will continue to deliver and test our units throughout the spring and summer in accordance with our agreed schedule with ECO."
About H Power Corp.
H Power Corp. is a fuel cell development and manufacturing company, focused on near-term commercialization of fuel cell systems. H Power has designed proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems to provide electricity for a wide range of applications including residential cogeneration products for homes, and power units for portable applications. H Power is addressing markets for its products in the U.S., Japan and Europe through its relationships with Energy Co-Opportunity (ECO), Mitsui, Osaka Gas, Kurita Water Systems, Gaz de France, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Fortum Oy and Naps Systems Oy, Air Products & Chemicals, Ball Aerospace, and Dupont. H Power has manufacturing facilities in Monroe, North Carolina and Montreal, Canada. For additional information, please visit our website at www.hpower.com.
About ECO
Energy Co-Opportunity (ECO) is an energy services cooperative established in 1998 to be the preferred provider of distributed energy solutions to the U.S. electric cooperative industry. ECO provides electric cooperatives with access to distributed generation technologies, including fuel cells, gas turbines and photovoltaics; access to alternative fuels such as propane and natural gas, and consulting, education and training in all aspects of energy diversification. ECO is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. For more information, go to www.e-coop.org.
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