This completes the environmental analysis of the project site that began in July 2008, when the Stephentown Planning Board approved the environmental aspects of the project, by issuing its own Negative Clearance and Determination of Non-Significance for the project.

Under terms of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), all federal agencies must consider the potential environmental impacts of their proposed actions. The NEPA evaluation comprises reviews of 18 potential environmental impacts, including public health and safety, air quality, wetlands, threatened or endangered species, natural resources, and geology and soil. The DOE is in the due diligence stage for a possible loan guarantee for Beacon's project; this FONSI determination means that the Company's application need not be delayed by the type of time-consuming Environmental Impact Statement that is sometimes mandated for projects being reviewed.

"This finding by DOE as to the minimal environmental impacts of our proposed 20-megawatt frequency regulation plant is a major step forward," said Bill Capp, Beacon president and CEO. "As the first loan guarantee finalist to complete the NEPA assessment through the Loan Guarantee Program Office, we look forward to DOE's completion of the remainder of the loan process in the near future."

A Clean and Innovative Use of Energy Storage

Beacon's proposed 20-megawatt plant would provide frequency regulation services by absorbing energy when it is abundant, storing it in a flywheel energy storage system, and injecting it back as necessary to help the grid maintain electricity frequency within a desired range (60 cycles/second being the target). Beacon's plant will not directly produce greenhouse gas emissions or other air pollutants, nor will it directly consume fuel, as do conventional fossil fuel-powered generators that provide regulation today.

About Beacon Power

Beacon Power Corporation designs, develops and is taking steps to commercialize advanced products and services to support stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid operation. The Company's primary business strategy is to commercialize its patented flywheel energy storage technology to perform frequency regulation services on the grid. Beacon's Smart Energy Matrix, which is now in production, is a non-polluting, megawatt-level, utility-grade flywheel-based solution to provide sustainable frequency regulation services. Beacon is a publicly traded company with its research, development and manufacturing facility in the U.S. For more information, visit www.beaconpower.com.

Safe Harbor Statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This Material contained in this press release may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect Beacon Power Corporation's current views about future events and financial performances. These "forward-looking" statements are identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "believe," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," and similar expressions identifying forward-looking statements. Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements because they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Beacon Power Corporation's expectation. These factors include: a short operating history; a history of losses and anticipated continued losses from operations; a need to raise additional capital combined with a questionable ability to do so, especially in view of the current situation in the financial markets; the complexity and other challenges of arranging project financing and resources for one or more frequency regulation power plants, including uncertainty about whether we will be successful in obtaining DOE loan guarantee support for our New York facility; conditions in target markets, including the fact that some ISOs have been slow to comply with the FERC's requirement to update market rules to include new technology such as the Company's; our ability to obtain site interconnection approvals, landlord approvals, or other zoning and construction approvals in a timely manner; limited experience manufacturing commercial products or supplying frequency regulation services on a commercial basis; limited commercial contracts for revenues to date; the dependence of revenues on the achievement of product optimization, manufacturing and commercialization milestones; the uncertainty of the political and economic climate, and the different electrical grid characteristics and requirements of any foreign countries into which we hope to sell or operate, including the uncertainty of enforcing contracts, the different market structures, and the potential substantial fluctuation in currency exchange rates in those countries; dependence on third-party suppliers; intense competition from companies with greater financial resources, especially from companies that are already in the frequency regulation market; possible government regulation that would impede the ability to market products or services or affect market size; possible product liability claims and the negative publicity which could result; any failure to protect intellectual property; retaining key executives and the possible need in the future to hire and retain key executives; the historical volatility of our stock price, as well as the volatility of the stock price of other companies in the energy sector, especially in view of the current situation in the financial markets generally. These factors are elaborated upon and other factors may be disclosed from time to time in Beacon Power Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Beacon Power expressly does not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Beacon Power Corporation

Beacon Power Corporation
James Spiezio, 978-694-9121
spiezio@beaconpower.com
or
Gene Hunt, 978-661-2825
hunt@beaconpower.com