Canada - Clipper 2.5 MW Liberty wind turbine receives Germanischer Lloyd Certification for cold climate operation

Clipper Windpower Plc today announced that its 2.5 megawatt (MW) Liberty C96 Class IIB and C93 Class IIA wind turbines have received Germanischer Lloyd (GL) certification for operation in extreme cold climate conditions. The achievement marks the first large wind turbine over 2 MW to receive the new GL extreme temperature certification.

“With the ability to survive extreme cold climate conditions, including non-operating temperatures of – 40o C degrees, the Liberty turbine offers a new level of confidence for demanding cold climate regions, including Canada, the northern United States, including North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, and northernmost European and Asian countries” said Dr. Amir Mikhail, Clipper’s Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Engineer. “Because the Liberty Series was engineered at the outset to operate in extreme cold climate conditions, only minimal technical and operational changes were necessary to attain compliance with GL’s new extreme weather certification process” said Mikhail. “For the most part, we have integrated each of these new design enhancements as a standard into the Liberty product line.”

Liberty’s standard “low temperature survival” architecture includes metallurgical suitability of components, including main base, rotor hub and gearbox housing. Large, quality, high-strength nuts and bolts are also a Liberty standard, as is special low-viscosity gearbox oil and an immersed gearbox heating system, keeping oil temperatures above 0 o C at start-up. Heavy, cold-weather grease is applied to exposed pitch and yaw bearings. An internal heating system protects sensitive power electronics in the frequency converter and CPU. Liberty is also equipped with a generator heater which is utilized when the generator is cold soaked for a period of time. Clipper’s Liberty wind turbines are currently in full production at the Company’s manufacturing facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

During 2007, 75 MW of Liberty units will be equipped with the Company’s extreme cold climate package for projects to be located in Minnesota. At a 2.5 MW capacity, the Liberty machine is the largest wind turbine built in the United States.

About Clipper Windpower
Clipper Windpower, www.clipperwind.com, is a rapidly growing company engaged in wind energy technology, turbine manufacturing, and wind project development. With offices in California, Colorado, Maryland, Mexico, Denmark and the U.K., and a ISO9001:2000 QMS Certified, 215,000 square foot manufacturing and assembly facility located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the company designs advanced wind turbines, manufactures its 2.5-MW Liberty wind turbine and actively develops wind power generating projects in the Americas and Europe. Clipper is a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM).