Capstone Turbine Corporation Receives C1000 Order for Australian Data Center

CHATSWORTH, Calif., Sept. 16, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (Nasdaq:CPST), the world's leading clean technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, has received an order for a C1000 Power Package for a carbon-neutral data center in Melbourne, Australia.

Capstone distributor Aquatec-Maxcon secured the order from a data center that provides highly reliable and secure services for mission-critical applications -- all while striving to be a carbon-neutral company.

When commissioned by Aquatec-Maxcon in the coming months, the low-emission, natural-gas fueled C1000 turbine will provide one megawatt of prime power to the 19,700 square foot (6,000 square meter) data center. Electricity produced by the clean-and-green microturbine will provide all power to the data center.

"Data centers use a tremendous amount of energy 24 hours a day," said Jim Crouse, Capstone's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Energy consumption in data centers can be an astounding 30 percent higher than commercial buildings, which means they also emit higher levels of greenhouse gases. Capstone microturbines provide highly reliable, clean power that's ideal for data centers around the world."

A 2008 report on data center energy efficiency by global management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company stated, "With their enormous appetite for energy, today's data centers emit as much carbon dioxide as all of Argentina. If left on their current path, data center output will quadruple by the year 2020."

The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimated that in 2006, U.S. data centers consumed 1.5 percent of the country's electricity -- more than all of the nation's TVs combined. And without significant changes, the EPA estimates that energy use at U.S. data centers could double by 2011.

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 growth and opportunities in the data center sector and the suitability of Capstone's products for 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
          Investor and Investment Media Inquiries:
          818-407-3628
          ir@capstoneturbine.com

Released September 16, 2010