Distributed Energy Systems President Highlights Progress, Opportunities of New Energy Frontiers at Annual Shareholders' Meeting
Jun 09 - PRNewswire-FirstCall
At its annual meeting held today in nearby Middletown, Walter "Chip" Schroeder, president of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. , told shareholders that he expects continued growth and progress toward the company becoming one of the first to make money in serving the new energy marketplace.
In brief state-of-the-company remarks, Mr. Schroeder said: "When we
brought together Northern Power and Proton, we did so because of their unique
but related capabilities. Northern Power was already a successful commercial
engineering services provider for growing renewable and high quality distributed
power markets, while Proton develops, manufactures and sells proprietary
commercial hydrogen products for existing industrial infrastructure and the
emerging hydrogen economy. We believed we could grow total revenues much faster
as a result of this new business mix." He told shareholders: "We have
made solid progress toward this goal."
The fourth quarter of 2004 was the first in which the company achieved
positive gross margins, and this performance was repeated in the first quarter
of 2005, Mr. Schroeder said. He further noted the company expects revenues to
increase by about 35% over 2004 numbers, "reaching and possibly even
exceeding the forecasted $30 million."
"We see strong confirmation that the fundamental driver of our business
-- the increasing demand by end users to gain more control over critical energy
resources -- is gaining momentum," Mr. Schroeder explained. "One of
DESC's inherent strengths is that we can meet this demand with a diverse set of
products, projects and technology innovations that are right in line with the
needs of the new energy marketplace."
More specifically, Mr. Schroeder demonstrated significant contributions and
progress of each of the company's businesses:
1. Northern Power Systems designs, builds, installs and maintains systems to
give users more control over the supply, reliability and cost of power.
Completing more than 800 projects in its more-than-30-year history, Northern
Power has contributed "on-grid" power systems primarily targeted to
commercial or industrial facilities, as well as "off-grid"
applications that integrate renewable technologies into critical technology
systems, often for government or military applications.
2. Proton Energy Systems manufactures proprietary Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)
cell stacks and incorporates them into products that serve existing commercial
and advanced technology markets. Proton's onsite hydrogen generation products,
such as its HOGEN(R) line used to cool electricity generators in power plants,
not only offers the potential for significant cost savings to utilities and
other power producers, but also provides added value from enhanced safety and
convenience.
The most significant validation of Proton's progress is the recent initiation
of marketing relationships with Airgas and Praxair, which together supply most
of the industrial gases delivered in cylinders to U.S. commercial and industrial
markets.
3. Northern Power and Proton are both involved in funded research and
development. Northern Power continues to develop means of channeling electricity
to critical loads where its value is highest. It is also refining proprietary
permanent magnet direct drive (PMDD) for wind power, which holds promise as the
lowest cost and most efficient wind technology.
The contract research group at Proton is working with the Department of
Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of
Defense and commercial partners on a variety of applications for hydrogen as
fuel. Applications include hydrogen energy storage systems and projects to
support fuel cell vehicle programs.
"We at Distributed Energy Systems see growth opportunities all around
us," Mr. Schroeder concluded. "We know that high energy prices and the
growing interest in sustainability issues necessitate practical solutions for
more efficient energy use. We are leading the way on this new frontier and will
continue to lead, picking our spots and focusing on those markets and products
where we have competitive advantage -- or can develop it -- to help DESC
continue moving forward now and in the years ahead."
About Distributed Energy Systems Corp.
Distributed Energy Systems Corp. creates and delivers products and solutions
to the emerging decentralized energy marketplace, giving users greater control
over their energy cost, quality and reliability. As the parent company of Proton
Energy Systems ( http://www.protonenergy.com/
) and Northern Power Systems ( http://www.northernpower.com/
) , Distributed Energy Systems delivers a combination of practical, ready-today
energy solutions and the solid business platforms for capitalizing on the
changing energy landscape. For more information visit http://www.distributed-energy.com/
.
This press release contains statements which are considered forward-looking
within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact,
including statements concerning expected revenues and profits, may be deemed to
be forward-looking information. Without limiting the foregoing, words such as
"anticipates," "believes," "could,"
"estimate," "expect," "intend," "may,"
"might," "should," "will," and "would"
and other forms of these words or similar words are intended to identify
forward-looking information. Distributed Energy's actual results may differ
materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result
of various important factors. Distributed Energy disclaims any obligation to
update these forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those contained in
Distributed Energy's forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
failure of our products and systems to perform as specified or achieve
commercial acceptance, the impact of competitive products and systems, and other
factors detailed in Distributed Energy's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March
31, 2005, and other filings Distributed Energy may make from time to time with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Distributed Energy Systems Corp.
CONTACT: John Glidden of Distributed Energy Systems, +1-203-678-2355, john.glidden@protonenergy.com
Web site: http://www.distributed-energy.com/http://www.protonenergy.com/http://www.northernpower.com/