Capstone Receives Orders From Taiwanese Distributor for Palm Oil Processing Plants

CHATSWORTH, Calif., April 2, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (Nasdaq:CPST), the world's leading clean technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, announced today that it received two orders totaling three megawatts (MW) to provide power to palm oil processing plants in Malaysia.

Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), Capstone's distributor in Taiwan, secured the orders. The orders are the first phase of what is expected to be a total of 15MW installed over the next three years and mark Capstone's first order in the palm oil production market. The microturbines will run on palm oil milling effluent (POME) biogas produced as a byproduct of the palm oil extraction process and will provide 100% of the power to the facilities in a standalone capacity. Conservative estimates place the potential POME biogas production from all palm oil mills in Indonesia and Malaysia at more than 50 million cubic meters each year, equivalent to power generation capacity of more than 800 gigawatts.

Generating onsite power with the waste from the palm oil extraction process provides increased efficiency in the manufacturing process by using the palm remains that would otherwise be discarded. Additionally, reliance on the local grid is eliminated, ensuring stability and uptime in the manufacturing process. With large production volumes, the palm oil processing plants need reliable power for their around-the-clock manufacturing process. 

In coming to the decision to eliminate their reliance on the local utility grid, the palm oil processing plants compared traditional reciprocating engines to Capstone microturbines. Capstone microturbines were chosen because of their high reliability, low operating costs, and extremely low emissions. With only one moving part and no need for lubricants or coolants, Capstone microturbines have very low operating costs and require minimal maintenance. Furthermore, Capstone has shipped well over 7,000 microturbines worldwide with more than 60 million operating hours, demonstrating the reliability the palm oil processing plants desire.

"Our standalone mode biogas C65 microturbine configuration was released two years ago with great success," said Jim Crouse, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Capstone Turbine. "Releasing the C200 and C1000 in standalone mode operating on biogas provides substantial new opportunities in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, India, and Africa."

"Capstone remains committed to expanding our global presence in the food processing industry," said Darren Jamison, Capstone President and CEO. "We are particularly excited about these two projects in Malaysia and plan to showcase these successful installations as blueprints for future projects."

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 approximately 7,000 Capstone Microturbine 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, United Kingdom, Mexico City, 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 our products, use of our products in biogas applications, increased opportunities in Southeast Asia, India and Africa and expanded presence in the food products industry. 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.

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Released April 2, 2014