Vergent Receives Groundbreaking C600 Order For New OATI Data Center in Minnesota
CHATSWORTH, Calif., June 1, 2015 (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 an order for a 600-kilowatt microturbine system to be installed in the OATI data center and office facility currently under construction in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Vergent Power Solutions, Inc. (www.vergentpower.com), the Capstone distributor for the Upper Midwest, New England and Eastern Canada, received the order from Computer Avenue, LLC (“Computer Ave”). Computer Ave is engaged by Open Access Technology International (“OATI”) to develop the OATI South Campus as an office and mission critical data center. The building is also being developed as a microgrid site. OATI is a leading software solution provider to the energy industry with over 1,600 customers, comprising 98 percent of North American energy industry firms, utilizing its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. (www.oati.com).
The C600 package will provide the new OATI South Campus facility with electricity, hot water and chilled water 24/7/365. Because of the critical nature of the complex, the microturbine will be configured to provide power in stand-alone mode in the event of a grid failure. The C600 will operate in parallel with wind, solar, and energy storage systems at the facility, along with the utility grid network. The C600 is planned to be upgraded to a C1000 in the future as the needs of the OATI South Campus grow.
“This is a groundbreaking project because for many years the prevailing theory was that the Midwest was not a hospitable market for cogeneration and trigeneration projects due to poor project economics and the conservative nature of the market here,” said Justin Rathke, President of Vergent Power. “Lower natural gas prices coupled with rising electric rates have created an opening for best-in-class CHP systems, and the additional benefits of the Capstone solution are a great fit for an innovative and visionary company like OATI.”
“Capstone is pleased to receive another order from Vergent Power Solutions,” said Jim Crouse, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Capstone Turbine. “This project will serve as a showcase to other major companies in the region and to the critical power market worldwide,” added Crouse.
“Microgrids, along with other forms of localized distributed generation, are set to transform the North American power grid,” said David Heim, Chief Strategy Officer of OATI. “The OATI South Campus, with the Capstone microturbine and other generation and energy storage technologies, will play an important role in proving how microgrids can bring significant benefit for building owners as well as the greater grid as a whole. OATI is glad to have the Capstone microturbine as one of the foundational energy production building blocks of the OATI South Campus,” added Heim.
“This is a landmark energy project for the state of Minnesota. The fact that OATI’s client base is comprised of a who’s who list of energy industry firms is an unparalleled opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of microturbine technology to a broad and influential audience,” said Rathke.
