USA - Alaskan Electric Utility signs $1.1 million contract with Northern Power for three additional wind turbines

Northern Power, a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: DESC - News), has been awarded a contract for $1.14 million to install, commission and service three additional NorthWind 100 wind turbines for the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) in the rural village of Chevak, Alaska. The contract continues AVEC's commitment to the development of its rural wind program in Alaska, bringing the total number of turbines AVEC has purchased from Northern Power to 13.

The three new turbines, combined with an additional NorthWind 100 purchased by AVEC in October 2005, are expected to be installed in Chevak by the autumn of 2006. Together, the four turbines will produce approximately 905,332 kWh of electricity annually, replacing about 30% of the energy normally generated by diesel fuel. At current fuel prices, the turbines are expected to provide AVEC significant annual fuel cost savings.

In addition to installing the turbines, Northern Power will provide maintenance and service on them for a period of at least two years. Northern Power will also provide its proprietary SmartView® monitoring software, allowing AVEC to monitor and control the wind turbines as well as monitor the overall power generation system assets.

The NorthWind 100 turbines ordered by AVEC to date are part of an important initiative to integrate renewable wind power into a rural energy infrastructure dominated by diesel generation technologies. In the region of Alaska known as the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, approximately 525 miles west of Anchorage, Chevak will be the third village to be provided with NorthWind 100 turbines.

"We are very pleased to have received this additional order from AVEC," stated Darren Jamison, president of Northern Power. "In an area where fuel can be costly and difficult to deliver and use, this contract further validates the NorthWind 100 turbine's value in such environments. We will continue to work closely with AVEC and other rural utilities in Alaska, Canada and elsewhere to identify additional locations which could clearly benefit from our industry-leading solution."