Capstone Microturbines Exceed 2 Million Operating Hours Worldwide

CHATSWORTH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2002--Leading microturbine power systems manufacturer Capstone Turbine Corporation today confirmed it has documented more than 2 million hours -- approximately 250 years -- of aggregated runtime among its microturbine systems operating in North America and overseas.

    Capstone MicroTurbine(TM) power systems -- which have only one moving part and use no liquid lubricants or coolants -- have integrated power electronics that control the system and have the capability to track hours of operation. Capstone has accumulated operating data on about half of the nearly 2,400 microturbines the company has shipped since its 1998 introduction of the product. Of those tracked systems, Capstone confirmed to date a total of 2,171,178 operating hours. There are 8,760 hours in a year.

    Hal Koyama, Capstone's Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said, "This unique mass of real-world experience not only helps us improve the technology, it gives us a better understanding of commercial market requirements that few, if any, other companies have. Additionally, any new energy technology will have to prove itself in the market. We believe this level of experience is essential to the success of any company in the emerging distributed energy marketplace."

    Capstone MicroTurbines are used by a variety of commercial, industrial and municipal facilities to generate power and heat for onsite use. Although they can fill emergency power needs during blackouts, Capstone MicroTurbines are largely used in primary power applications, in which they are set to run anywhere from 8 to 24 hours daily.

    "Ultra-low-emission Capstone MicroTurbines help reduce energy costs and frequently increase power reliability," said Dr. Ake Almgren, President and CEO of Capstone Turbine. "Many companies that use Capstone MicroTurbines also use the system's clean, dry exhaust heat to mitigate their costs in water and space heating, process drying, and even air conditioning by using heat-powered absorption chillers."