Beacon Power Accelerating Production Plans to Build Nation's First Full-Scale Flywheel Energy Storage Plant
Company Plans to Increase Its Workforce by More Than 75%
Press Release Source: Beacon Power Corporation On Tuesday February 2, 2010, 12:00 pm
TYNGSBORO, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Beacon Power Corporation (Nasdaq: BCON - News), a leading provider of advanced products and services to support a more stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid, today announced that it plans to hire approximately 50 new employees this year at its Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, headquarters, as it ramps up production of its grid-scale flywheel energy storage systems.
The decision to expand the Company’s workforce comes following a series of positive developments, including more than a full year of successful operation on the New England grid; a $43-million conditional loan guarantee commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); and the award of a $24-million DOE smart grid stimulus grant. Beacon also raised $20 million in equity investment in December, a portion of which will provide the remaining capital required to close the DOE loan and build the Company’s first full-scale 20 MW plant.
The flywheels being produced this year will be installed at Beacon’s 20 MW plant in Stephentown, New York, which is currently under construction. A portion of this first plant is expected to begin earning revenue by providing frequency regulation, an essential grid-balancing service, on the New York State electricity grid in the fourth quarter of this year.
“With the help of the U.S. Department of Energy, which is supporting our first two full-scale plants, we are now committing to the expansion of our manufacturing capacity,” said Bill Capp, Beacon president and CEO. “In addition to the hiring in Tyngsboro, we issued significant purchase commitments to our supplier base, which will create additional jobs in the region and other parts of the country. This growth in domestic clean energy jobs is helping to meet an important policy goal of the Obama administration.”
“Beacon Power’s job expansion is welcome news for the Massachusetts clean energy cluster Governor Patrick has championed forcefully,” said Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles. “And, as the nation makes the transition to a clean energy economy, advanced power storage technologies like Beacon’s will find ever larger markets and more customers.”
Beacon Power is hiring a variety of professionals including hardware engineers, project managers, market data analysts, and sales directors (both U.S. and international), as well as offering positions in purchasing, finance, site development, manufacturing and production. Additional information can be found at www.beaconpower.com.
finance.yahoo.com |
