Beacon Power is an American limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of RGA Investments LLC. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, it specializes in flywheel-based energy storage. Beacon designs and develops products aimed at utility frequency regulation for power grid operations.
 | |
| Company type | Limited liability company |
|---|---|
| OTC Pink No Information: BCONQ | |
| Industry | flywheel energy storage, utility frequency |
| Predecessor | Beacon Power Inc.[1] |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | , |
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 | RGA Investments, LLC |
| Website | beaconpower |
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.[4]
History
editBeacon 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.[5][6][7] In June 2008, Beacon Power opened new headquarters in Tyngsboro, with financing from Massachusetts state agencies.[4]
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.[8][9] The DOE loan for $43 million was awarded in 2010, with the plant to be online by 2011. It also was awarded $24 million from the DOE for a second flywheel plant.[10]
On 30 October 2011, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under 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 stated it intended to rehire most of staff and to provide the capital to build a second 20MW plant in Pennsylvania.[14]
On May 1, 2018, the investment arm of RGA Labs acquired the company.[15] The physical assets, the 20 MW NY Facility named Stephentown Spindle and the 20 MW facility[16] in Hazle Township PA were sold to Convergent Energy and Power in 2018.[17][18]
See also
editNotes and references
edit- ^ "Beacon Power Company History". Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ^ a b c "Bloomberg- Income Statement for Beacon Power Inc". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ^ a b "Bloomberg- Balance Sheet for Beacon Power Inc". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- ^ a b Peter Howe (June 13, 2008). "Beacon Power puts new spin on clean energy Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine", New England Cable News. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ "SatCon sells off two units for $5.6M Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine", Mass High Tech (September 29, 2008).
- ^ "Beacon Power's Affiliate, SatCon Technology Corporation, to Distribute Five Million Beacon Power Shares" (Press release). SatCon Technology Corporation. September 13, 2001.
- ^ Steven Syre (August 14, 2003). "Brownout at energy firms", The Boston Globe.
- ^ Fact Sheet: The Department of Energy's Loan Programs, March 5, 2010, archived from the original on 2010-05-27
- ^ Beacon Power, Nordic Windpower Get $59M DOE Loan Guarantees, July 2, 2009
- ^ Ricketts, Camille. DOE Charges Up Flywheels, Finalizes $43M Loan to Beacon Power, VentureBeat, The New York Times, August 10, 2010.
- ^ Beacon Power, Backed by U.S. Loan Guarantees, Files Bankruptcy, October 31, 2011, archived from the original on November 2, 2011
- ^ Milford, Phil (December 27, 2011). "Beacon Power Wins Judge's Approval for Auction Procedures". Bloomberg.
- ^ "UPDATE 1-Beacon Power finds buyer, Energy Dept sees return". Reuters. February 6, 2012. Archived from the original on March 27, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ RGA Investments, LLC Acquires Beacon Power, LLC
- ^ "20 MW Flywheel Energy Storage Plant Hazle Spindle -Hazle Township". academia.edu. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ Convergent Energy and Power https://www.convergentep.com/
- ^ "Convergent buys up 40MW of flywheels in New York and Pennsylvania". 8 May 2018.
Further reading
edit- Corum, Lyn. The New Core Technology: Energy storage is part of the smart grid evolution, The Journal of Energy Efficiency and Reliability, December 31, 2009. Discusses: Anaheim Public Utilities Department, lithium ion energy storage, iCel Systems, Beacon Power, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), ICEL, Self Generation Incentive Program, ICE Energy, vanadium redox flow, lithium Ion, regenerative fuel cell, ZBB, VRB, lead acid, CAES, and Thermal Energy Storage.
- Ricketts, Camille. DOE Charges Up Flywheels, Finalizes $43M Loan to Beacon Power, VentureBeat, The New York Times, August 10, 2010. Discusses Beacon Power and flywheel energy storage.