PORTSMOUTH, N.H., March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Environmental Power Corporation , a leader in the renewable biofuels industry, today announced that its subsidiary, Microgy Holdings, LLC, has achieved the initial delivery of pipeline quality renewable natural gas from the Huckabay Ridge facility in Stephenville, Texas. The facility is able to generate biogas from manure and other agricultural waste, condition the biogas to natural gas standards and distribute RNG(TM) via a commercial pipeline. RNG(TM) is Microgy's branded, renewable, pipeline-quality methane product.
At full build out, Huckabay Ridge will be the largest RNG(TM) production facility in the world, with annual output of approximately 650,000 mmbtus of RNG(TM) per year - the equivalent of over 4.6 million gallons of heating oil. In addition to energy production, Huckabay Ridge is also expected to generate approximately 200,000 tons of carbon offset credits annually, based on existing Chicago Climate Exchange protocols. Greenhouse gas capture is a rapidly growing environmental concern that is being supported by numerous State initiatives, including California and the Northeast, and is attracting significant attention among federal legislators pursuing restrictions that limit carbon output and create a market for trading carbon capture "credits". The carbon credits, which have a value of approximately $4.00 per metric ton in today's voluntary carbon credit market, are expected to increase in value as a binding cap and trade system evolves in the U.S.
Currently six of Huckabay Ridge's eight digesters are producing biogas, and are in varying stages of start-up and operation, with the remaining two digesters beginning start-up. Biogas has now been processed through the on- site gas-conditioning and compression equipment and, once the commissioning process is finalized, Huckabay Ridge is expected to be generating RNG(TM) at full capacity later this spring. The RNG(TM) produced by the facility has been purchased by the Lower Colorado River Authority pursuant to a previously announced long-term purchase agreement through September 2008.
"With the successful initial delivery of gas at the first of our large- scale RNG facilities, we believe Environmental Power is demonstrating its first mover status in RNG(TM) production and has proved a uniquely valuable addition to the spectrum of commercially available renewable fuels, i.e., RNG(TM), our renewable natural gas substitute that can be transported and used in any and all conventional equipment that consumes regular natural gas. All the while, Environmental Power is becoming a dominant player in the carbon credit market," said Rich Kessel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Environmental Power.
"This phase of the Huckabay Ridge facility's startup represents a milestone in the implementation of our business plan as we pursue our goals of accessing the commercial mainstream with our premium value renewable natural gas, even as we expand our revenue base with the increasing value of carbon credits. All this is in addition to the environmental benefits we bring to the agricultural market. Well-conceived and directed renewable energy programs can benefit our economy through multiple channels of environmental value creation.
"While making initial deliveries of gas into the pipeline is not the conclusion of the startup process, it is a critical first milestone. Now the process shifts to demonstrating fully reliable operation. I am very confident in the Microgy team and their consultants and fully expect that they will be able to achieve this important objective in time to meet our projected commercial operation date.
"The experience of the start-up of Huckabay will be invaluable in our project rollout at the other large-scale facilities under development in Texas, California and other key markets," continued Mr. Kessel. "Our standardized modular plants will enable us to implement large numerous scale RNG facilities rapidly and in a cost-effective manner."
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, referred to as the PSLRA, provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain statements contained in this press release, such as statements concerning planned manure-to-energy systems, our sales pipeline, our backlog, our projected sales and financial performance, statements containing the words "may," "assumes," "forecasts," "positions," "predicts," "strategy," "will," "expects," "estimates," "anticipates," "believes," "projects," "intends," "plans," "budgets," "potential," "continue," "targets" "proposed," and variations thereof, and other statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as such term is defined in the PSLRA. Because such statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: uncertainties involving development-stage companies; uncertainties regarding project financing, the lack of binding commitments and/or the need to negotiate and execute definitive agreements for the construction and financing of projects, the sale of project output, the supply of substrate and other requirements and for other matters; financing and cash flow requirements and uncertainties; uncertainties regarding facility reliability; uncertainties regarding the reliability and cost of substrate and other supplies; inexperience with the development of multi-digester projects; risks relating to fluctuations in the price of commodity fuels like natural gas, and our inexperience with managing such risks; difficulties involved in developing and executing a business plan; difficulties and uncertainties regarding acquisitions; technological uncertainties; including those relating to competing products and technologies; risks relating to managing and integrating acquired businesses; unpredictable developments; including plant outages and repair requirements; the difficulty of estimating construction, development, repair and maintenance costs and timeframes; the uncertainties involved in estimating insurance and implied warranty recoveries, if any; the inability to predict the course or outcome of any negotiations with parties involved with our projects; uncertainties relating to general economic and industry conditions, and the amount and rate of growth in expenses; uncertainties relating to government and regulatory policies and the legal environment; uncertainties relating to the availability of tax credits, deductions, rebates and similar incentives; intellectual property issues; the competitive environment in which Environmental Power Corporation and its subsidiaries operate and other factors, including those described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, well as in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they are made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Environmental Power Corporation
