City of Winona Expands Renewable Energy Capacity at Wastewater Treatment Plant with Capstone Green Energy Microturbines

By: Capstone Green Energy via Business Wire

March 31, 2025 at 09:15 AM EDT

Project Costs Were 90% Covered Through Federal Tax Credit and DOE Grant

Capstone Green Energy Holdings, Inc. (the "Company” or “Capstone”) (PINK: CGEH) and Capstone Green Energy, LLC., announced that Vergent Power, Capstone’s distributor for the Upper Midwest, New England, and Eastern Canada, has secured an order for two Capstone C65 ICHP microturbines and a Vergent controller for the City of Winona’s wastewater treatment plant in Minnesota. The new system, set to be commissioned by April 30, 2025, will double the facility’s renewable energy output while maintaining its commitment to cost-effective operations.

The City of Winona has relied on Capstone technology for over 15 years, with an existing C65 microturbine that has surpassed 100,000 hours of runtime. This expansion project replaces the aging unit, adds a second C65 microturbine, and incorporates a Vergent remote monitoring controller. This allows Vergent to keep a pulse on the Capstone Combined Heat & Power (CHP) system - significantly enhancing the facility’s energy sustainability.

The Capstone CHP system uses the facility’s digester gas as fuel to generate electricity for the facility’s consumption. The Capstone CHP’s exhaust energy will be recovered by converting it to hot water, which is used to support the digester process heating loads. This CHP application reduces the facility’s reliance on natural gas and provides resiliency in an affordable approach, all while sustainably lowering its carbon footprint.

By leveraging the federal Tax Credit (ITC) and a Department of Energy Industrial Training and Assessment Center Implementation Grant, the city was able to cover over 90% of the project’s costs with these grants. This funding made this expansion project possible in the most affordable way.

“The positive experience we’ve had with Capstone microturbines made it an easy decision to expand our system,” said Brian DeFrang, P.E., Public Works Director and City Engineer for the City of Winona. “The new equipment allows us to maximize the use of our digester gas while reducing our reliance on external energy sources. Taking advantage of the tax credit and grant before the programs ended was crucial in making this project affordable for our community. We’re proud to lead by example in demonstrating how wastewater treatment facilities can operate more sustainably and efficiently.”

“We are extremely excited for the City of Winona. Being able to leverage creative financing with government funds supports the intended outcomes of lowering carbon footprint in a very responsible and sustainable way. This project embraces the very idea of sustainability by converting multiple waste streams into a circular recycling continuum, all beginning with the receipt of the community’s wastewater,” said Vince Canino, President and CEO. “The City of Winona’s investment in renewable energy aligns with its long-standing dedication to sustainability, ensuring a greener future while minimizing operational costs. We are humbled and grateful for the City’s trust in Capstone and Vergent as they embark on this very pivotal expansion project.”

About Capstone Green Energy

For almost four decades, Capstone Green Energy has been at the forefront of clean technology using microturbines, revolutionizing how businesses manage their energy supply on a sustainable basis. In partnership with our worldwide team of dedicated distributors, we have shipped over 10,000 units to 83 countries, lowering our clients’ carbon footprint with highly efficient on-site energy systems and microgrid solutions.

Today, our commitment to a cleaner future is unwavering. We offer customers a range of microturbine products ranging from 65kW to multiple MW’s for the commercial, industrial, and utility-scale spaces uniquely tailored to their specific needs. Capstone's solutions portfolio not only showcases our core clean technology microturbines but also includes flexible Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) offerings, including build, own, and operate models, as well as rental services.

Capstone’s fast, turnkey power rental solutions are intended to address customers with limited capital or short-term needs; for more information, contact rentals@CGRNenergy.com.

In our pursuit of cutting-edge solutions, we've forged strategic partnerships to extend our impact. Through these collaborations, we proudly offer solutions that utilize renewable gas products and heat recovery solutions. These solutions greatly enhance the sustainability and efficiency of our client's operations while contributing to a cleaner and more responsible sustainable energy landscape.

For more information about the Company, please visit www.CapstoneGreenEnergy.com. Follow Capstone Green Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

Cautionary Notes

This release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995The Company has tried to identify these forward-looking statements by using words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “should,” “estimate,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “plan,” “goal” and similar terms and phrases, but such words, terms and phrases are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Actual results, performance and achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, but not limited to, the following: the Company’s liquidity position and ability to access capital; the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern; the Company’s ability to successfully remediate the material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting; the Company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits of its financial restructuring; the Company’s ability to comply with the restrictions imposed by covenants contained in the exit financing and the new subsidiary limited liability company agreement; employee attrition and the Company’s ability to retain senior management and other key personnel following the restructuring; the Company's ability to develop new products and enhance existing products; product quality issues, including the adequacy of reserves therefor and warranty cost exposure; intense competition; financial performance of the oil and natural gas industry and other general business, industry and economic conditions; the impact of litigation and regulatory proceedings; inquiries from the SEC; the potential material adverse effect on the price of the Company’s common stock and stockholder lawsuits. For a detailed discussion of factors that could affect the Company’s future operating results, please see the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors contained in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, changed circumstances or future events or for any other reason.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250331159691/en/

The new equipment allows us to maximize the use of our digester gas while reducing our reliance on external energy sources.

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City of Winona Expands Renewable Energy Capacity at Wastewater Treatment Plant with Capstone Green Energy Microturbines

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