Beacon Power

Beacon Power, LLC
Limited Liability Company
Traded as OTC Pink (No Information): BCONQ
Industry flywheel energy storage, utility frequency
Predecessor Beacon Power Inc.[1]
Founded 1997 (1997)
Headquarters Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, U.S.
Area served
 New York, United States
Revenue US$900 thousand (2010)[2]
US$-21,340 thousand (2010)[2]
US$-22,680 thousand (2010)[2]
Total assets US$11,940 thousand (2010)[3]
Total equity US$28,630 thousand (2010)[3]
Parent Rockland Capital LLC[4]
Website beaconpower.com

Beacon Power is an American Limited Liability Company and wholly owned subsidiary of Rockland Capital LLC specializing in flywheel-based energy storage headquartered in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. Beacon designs and develops products aimed at utility frequency regulation for power grid operations.

The storage systems are designed to help utilities match supply with varying demand by storing excess power in arrays of 2,800-pound (1,300 kg) flywheels at off-peak times for use during peak demand.[5]

History

Beacon Power was founded in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1997 as a subsidiary of SatCon Technology Corporation, a maker of alternative energy management systems. The company went public in 2000.[6][7][8]

In June 2008, Beacon Power opened new headquarters in Tyngsboro, with financing from Massachusetts state agencies. The new facility is intended to support an expansion of the company's operation.[5]

In 2009 Beacon received a loan guarantee from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) for $43 million to build a 20-megawatt flywheel power plant in Stephentown, New York.[9][10]

On 30 October 2011, the company filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code in the United States bankruptcy court in Delaware.[11][12] As part of the bankruptcy court proceedings, Beacon Power agreed on November 18 to sell its Stephentown facility to repay the DOE loan.

As of 6 February 2012, Rockland Capital, a private equity firm, bought the plant and most of the company's other assets for $30.5 million.[13] Rockland Capital intends to rehire most of staff and to provide the capital to build a second 20MW plant in Pennsylvania.[14]

Competitors

There are numerous companies pursuing business opportunities presented by grid-level energy storage, including A123, Altair Nanotechnologies, Ener1, NGK Insulators Ltd, SatCon Technology Corporation, Valence Technology, and Enstorage. However, Beacon's main competitors in flywheel technology include ABB,[15] Berkeley Energy Sciences Corporation,[16] Temporal Power[17] and Vycon Energy.[18]

See also

Notes and references

Further reading

External links

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