Beacon Power Corporation, which provides advanced energy storage products and services, has closed on a $43 million loan guaranteed by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The money will finance Beacon’s 20 MW flywheel energy storage plant currently under construction in Stephentown, New York. The $43 million loan covers 62.5 percent of the plant’s estimated $69 million cost.

According to Beacon Power, the Stephentown plant is the first of its kind in the world and “its flywheel systems will provide frequency regulation services to help stabilize and enhance the performance of the New York power grid and enable greater use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.”

The 20 MW produced at the facility will provide approximately 10 percent of New York’s total frequency regulation capacity.

Bill Capp, Beacon President and CEO, says, “With the closing of this financing for our first 20 MW plant, we look forward to growing the company, creating jobs, and continuing to deploy our technology in the United States. We believe that there is no better way to provide efficient, grid-scale frequency regulation than our flywheel systems, and we’re grateful to DOE, through the Loan Programs Office, for its continued strong support and validation of this breakthrough technology.”

Congresswoman Niki Tsongas adds, “The loan guarantee will help Beacon further develop their groundbreaking technology, which reduces our dependence on foreign sources of energy, creates reliable clean power, and most importantly creates jobs right here in our backyard. Beacon Power should be recognized for their contributions to our local economy and for this considerable accomplishment. This exciting announcement also highlights the support for innovative companies contained in the recovery package, which has provided needed access to capital so that small businesses can continue to grow and lead us out of this difficult economy.”

Four MW at the plant are expected to be online and earning revenue by the end of 2010.

Beacon Power Corporation designs and develops products and services to support efficient electricity grid operation and is developing two more 20 MW flywheel-based energy storage plants. For more information visit www.beaconpower.com

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