U.S. Energy Company Expands Its Application of Capstone Turbines - Orders C1000 for Prime Power at a Division Headquarters Building and C800 for a Marcellus Shale Gas Compressor Station

CHATSWORTH, Calif., April 12, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (Nasdaq:CPST), the world's leading clean-technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, today announced it recently secured two new orders from a large U.S. energy and gas transmission company. The interstate gas transmission company is primarily a provider of gas transportation and storage services with large underground natural gas storage systems.

The longtime C65 customer will add a C800 to its growing 48-unit microturbine fleet at compressor stations throughout the region and move beyond its traditional microturbine application by installing a C1000 at a division headquarters – the first time the company has used Capstone microturbines as a prime-power generation source at a location other than a compressor station.

The C800 Power Package will provide 800 kilowatts of low-emission electricity at a pipeline compressor station in the Marcellus Shale play in the Eastern United States. After 10 years of proven results from the company's growing 48-microturbine fleet, officials decided to also purchase a C1000 Power Package to provide prime power to a large office building that houses one of the company's division headquarters.  

Purchase of the two additional microturbines brings the company's total U.S. Capstone fleet to 50.

The C800 at the compressor station, which is in a remote state wildlife area, will replace three Capstone C65 microturbines installed at the site in 2001. Upcoming expansion of the compressor station will require four times more electricity than now is available. The C65s continue to run efficiently and will be moved to another compressor station. E-Finity Distributed Generation, Capstone's Mid-Atlantic distributor, secured the follow-on order for the C800.

"The company installed Capstone microturbines in remote sites over the years because the microturbines are highly reliable and because they meet stringent air quality requirements and sound restrictions," said Jim Crouse, Capstone's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Our stellar track record with the company is a key reason they chose Capstone microturbines to supply power at a site other than compressor stations."

BHP Energy, Capstone's North-Atlantic distributor, secured the order for the natural-gas fueled C1000, which will be commissioned in the office building this summer to combat increasing utility rates and replace its unreliable power supply.

The Capstone C1000 Dual Mode system will supply 1 megawatt of continuous power to the facility, which will dramatically offset the amount of power purchased from the utility. The C1000 also will serve as a reliable backup power source. During a utility power failure, the C1000, which is grid interconnected, will take over and supply all electric power required to operate the administration building, including its critical power needs.

"A growing number of oil and gas producers around the world are turning to clean-and-green, highly reliable Capstone microturbines for prime power, as well as combined heat and power applications," Crouse said. "Within the past year, we've received a record number of orders from oil and gas companies. This latest order from a longtime customer confirms that energy companies are considering Capstone microturbine for applications beyond their traditional uses at wellhead sites, compressor stations and oil platforms."

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 5,000 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 high reliability, compliance with government regulations and expanded applications for our products by oil and gas companies. 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 Turbine Corporation" 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
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Released April 12, 2011