Capstone Turbine Corporation Receives Orders for 4.2 Megawatts From Multiple Oil & Gas Companies for Use in Marcellus Shale; Distributor E-Finity Opens West Virginia Office to Meet Demand

CHATSWORTH, Calif., Dec. 19, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (Nasdaq:CPST), the world's leading clean technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, recently received orders totaling 4.2 megawatts from multiple oil & gas producers operating in the Marcellus play, including a follow-on order from a large independent producer already operating a fleet of more than 50 Capstone microturbines.

Capstone Mid-Atlantic distributor E-Finity secured the orders from new and existing customers that will use the microturbines at remote locations throughout the Marcellus Shale.  E-Finity has secured orders for more than 35 microturbines within the last six months in the Marcellus Shale alone.

The microturbines will be installed in early 2012 and used in prime power and combined heat and power (CHP) applications.  In the CHP applications, the microturbines' exhaust heat will be used for building and onsite fuel-gas heating.

"We have tremendous opportunities to sell Capstone microturbines to oil & gas customers in the Mid-Atlantic region due to the continued expansion of the Marcellus Shale," said Jeff Beiter, E-Finity Managing Partner.  "We recently opened a new sales and service operations center in Clarksburg, West Virginia to meet the oil & gas industry's escalating demand for highly reliable, low-emission microturbine power that meets strict government clean-air requirements."

"Capstone's sales to the oil & gas industry worldwide are at a record pace," said Jim Crouse, Capstone's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing.  "Because our durable, clean-and-green microturbines use patented air bearing technology, operational costs can be significantly reduced.  That's a key reason Capstone microturbines are being adopted as the go-to power source for onshore and offshore oil and gas applications around the world."

About Capstone Turbine Corporation

Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (Nasdaq:CPST) is the world's leading producer of low-emission microturbine systems, and was the first to market commercially viable microturbine energy products.  Capstone Turbine has shipped over 6,000 Capstone MicroTurbine(R) systems to customers worldwide. These award-winning systems have logged millions of documented runtime operating hours.  Capstone Turbine is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Combined Heat and Power Partnership, which is committed to improving the efficiency of the nation's energy infrastructure and reducing emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases.  A UL-Certified ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certified company, Capstone is headquartered in the Los Angeles area with sales and/or service centers in the New York Metro Area, Mexico City, Nottingham, Shanghai and Singapore.

The Capstone Turbine Corporation logo is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6212

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is used in the federal securities laws, about lower operational cost, additional reliability, compliance with certain air quality regulations and the environmental advantages of our products.  Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "objective," "intend," "targeted," "plan" and similar phrases.  These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties described in Capstone's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that may cause Capstone's actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied in such statements.  Capstone cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release.  Capstone undertakes no obligation, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

"Capstone" and "Capstone MicroTurbine" are registered trademarks of Capstone Turbine Corporation.  All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Capstone Turbine Corporation
         Investor and Investment Media Inquiries:
         818-407-3628
         ir@capstoneturbine.com

Released December 19, 2011