Capstone Turbine Corporation Receives Order for First C200 in the United States to Run on Coal Bed Methane Gas From a Large Natural Gas and Coal Producer

CHATSWORTH, Calif., Feb. 1, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (Nasdaq:CPST), the world's leading clean technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, today announced that it continues to broaden the application of its innovative C200 microturbines in the oil and gas industry with a recent order from a large natural gas and coal producer for a C200 fueled by coal bed methane gas—the first Capstone microturbine of its kind in the United States.

The order is the latest in a string of new orders Capstone has received in recent months from several large oil and gas companies for its C65, C200 and C1000 microturbines. E-Finity Distributed Generation, Capstone's mid-Atlantic distributor, secured this most recent order.  

The C200 microturbine will be installed this summer at a coal bed gas processing plant. The microturbine will use methane gas from the plant that is normally flared, to produce 200 kilowatts of electricity.

Normally, operations that produce methane gas flare the waste gases or vent them directly into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, methane has a greenhouse-gas impact on the atmosphere 21 times that of carbon dioxide. Capstone's microturbine technology allows companies to capture the waste methane and use it as an on-site fuel source.

"The oil and gas industry continues to be a growing market for Capstone," said Jim Crouse, Capstone's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "With this sale of our C200 operating on coal bed methane flare gas to a major U.S. producer, we continue our expansion and market adoption in the U.S."

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 the advantages of the C200 for use in oil and gas applications and growth prospects in that sector. 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 February 1, 2011