Clipper Windpower, Inc.

Clipper Windpower

Energy drives our world and our economy. It's also the leading contributor to Global Warming and climate change. Wind energy – clean, renewable and cost competitive – is a practical solution. At Clipper Windpower, we strive to advance the technologies and services that make our customers more successful in the large-scale expansion of wind energy, lessening the impacts of fossil generation on the earth.

In the coming years, wind industry growth will be substantial. Wind energy will increasingly fill the need for new power and displace inefficient, costly and polluting carbon-based fuel generation in power grids around the world. At Clipper, we're committed and passionate in our pursuit to increase shareholder value by helping to drive our energy economy to a greener, more sustainable energy future.

Profile

Clipper Windpower, a United Technologies Corp. company, is engaged in wind energy technology, turbine manufacturing and wind project development. Clipper designs advanced wind turbines, manufactures the 2.5 MW Liberty wind turbine, and develops wind power generating projects in the Americas and Europe. The company is headquartered in California with manufacturing and assembly facilities in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Clipper’s website is at www.clipperwind.com.

United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, is a diversified Fortune 50 company that provides high technology products and services to the global building systems and aerospace industries. The UTC website address is www.utc.com.

Wind Energy: A Growing Industry

The steepening in the industry's growth curve since the 1990's, coupled a growing global trend toward national targets supporting reduced carbon dioxide emissions suggests a robust and sustained expansion for wind. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, over the last five years alone, the industry's annual growth has averaged 24.3% on a global basis, with wind energy capacity predicted to double by the end of the current decade.

These powerful fundamental forces are affecting change in energy production and usage. Wind energy's clean renewable nature, coupled with volatile rising fuel prices are certainly among the factors driving this trend. Political instability in the major petroleum producing regions of the world also creates an urgency to achieve greater energy security and further drives the uptake of domestic renewable energy resources. Furthermore, the established scientific consensus that fossil fuel emissions are the major cause of global warming means the transition toward cleaner energy sources must be accelerated. This combination of factors has driven wind power to become the fastest growing energy technology in the world.

Clipper's project development team brings together expertise that spans more than two decades, including leadership of some of the industry's largest and most successful wind energy developments. From land acquisition and permitting to site engineering, project finance, and local government support, our development capabilities cover the full range of activities necessary for successful wind project development. Coupled with Clipper Fleet Services' full range of capabilities, Clipper can provide every expertise and customer convenience – from land acquisition and permitting through plant construction and operation. Our project development activities can be found throughout the United States, Latin America and Europe.

Our Capabilities:

Wind resource acquisition and management. Clipper acquires and maintains a substantial 6500 MW portfolio of wind resource rights for the development of projects utilizing Clipper wind turbines. This includes, among other things, wind flow analyses, environmental assessments, regulatory and permitting approvals, power contracts, transmission and interconnection agreements.

Project design and engineering. Clipper designs the turbine layout, power collection, transmission interconnection and substations, civil work and project logistics. Project design is based on advanced methodologies in analyzing the siting of turbines to maximize energy capture from the wind.

Project finance. With over $1 billion of successful financing completions, new projects benefit from cutting edge financing options and structures. Developing the financial structure, negotiating terms and documentation, and interfacing with financial institutions is a core competency and part of Clipper's process for making sure that every aspect of the project is optimized.

Construction. Clipper can provide turn-key construction or construction supervision, and arranges all subcontractor agreements. Our management team's expertise includes over 3,000 direct and/or oversight wind turbine installations at sites ranging from desert floors to mountain ridgelines. These installations have included high voltage transmission lines and substations, wind turbines and all related wind power facility infrastructure.

Operation and Maintenance. Once a wind power facility is commissioned, Clipper provides ongoing operation and maintenance services. This responsibility assures maximum production of electricity while maintaining an appropriate balance between short and long-term operating costs. High plant performance and availability require constant surveillance, and methodical preventive and scheduled maintenance services for high turbine availability and reliable operation.