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Vancouver, B.C., October 21, 2003 -- VRB Power Systems Inc. and Sea Breeze Power Corp. have signed a strategic collaboration agreement between the two companies.
Thanks to new technological advances and the marriage of wind energy with VRB Power's Energy Storage System, safe and clean renewable energy is now an alternative to costly and inefficient fossil fuels to meet electricity and heating needs for remote communities
Sea Breeze Power Corp. and VRB Power Systems Inc., both headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, have entered into an agreement to create cost-effective green energy systems for remote communities in Canada and Alaska.
A Canadian government agency, the CANMET Energy Technology Center, indicates the collective annual cost savings for communities in Canada alone to be in the order of magnitude of $100 million annually by not having to use fossil fuels such as diesel.
Under terms of the agreement, VRB Power will sell and integrate the Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System (VRB/ESS) to effectively provide the ability to supply firm capacity from wind as a renewable resource, and minimize the required use of diesel engines reducing emissions and costs of fuel.
Sea Breeze, a developer of large wind farms using state-of-the-art wind turbines, will provide engineering and design services, as well as the marketing of the VRB Energy Storage System for wind farms and other renewable energy projects in Canada and Alaska. Sea Breeze has identified over four-hundred remote communities as potential customers for implementation of the VRB/ESS.
"Many of these communities are very dependent on fossil fuels and pay energy costs that can be up to ten times higher than in the rest of Canada, " said Paul B. Manson, President of Sea Breeze Power.
He explained that current wind projects in remote communities are generally tied to isolated diesel grids to form wind-diesel hybrid systems with wind essentially used to save on fuel.
"With the VRB Energy Storage System, electricity can be stored with virtually no environmental impact at less cost than diesel or other fossil fuels," he stated. "It's a win-win situation for remote communities ensuring a clean, reliable and affordable supply of power to light and heat their homes, and can result in cost savings of millions of dollars for these remote communities."
The companies
VRB Power Systems Inc is an alternative electrochemical energy storage company that has commercialized the patented Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System ("VRB/ESS"). The VRB/ESS is a new enabling technology that can effectively store electricity on demand.
The VRB/ESS can provide direct economic benefits to utilities and end users in terms of improved, power quality, reliability and energy efficiency. The VRB/ESS is particularly well suited to electrical power arbitrage, load leveling (peak shaving), grid stability enhancements, and capital deferment. It is primarily focused on stationary power sources such as utility substations, commercial buildings, production facilities, telecommunication operations, cellular radio sites, and renewable resource generation such as wind farms, creating the ability to provide "firm" capacity.
As a "green" technology, the VRB is characterized by the lowest ecological impact of all energy storage technologies. It uses conducting plastic electrodes, which do not contain heavy metals unlike most other conventional energy storage systems that rely on toxic substances such as lead, zinc or cadmium. VRB Power is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange ("VRB") and the OTC Pink Sheets ("VRBPF").
Sea Breeze Power Corp, is a publicly-traded company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (SBX). The company operations encompass three environmentally-friendly renewable energy sectors: state-of-the-art wind farms, renewable energy management in remote communities, and run-of-river hydroelectricity.
Besides its partnership with VRB Power Systems, Sea Breeze has ten wind farms in various stages of assessment and environmental review in British Columbia along with a major run-of-river power project. Sea Breeze is committed to balancing the needs of economic growth in harmony with nature's ecosystems, while working in partnership within the communities in which it operates to create clean sources of energy.
Visit the company's web site at: www.vrbpower.com
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