WindStream Technologies to Launch TowerMill(R) in The Bahamas

WindStream, announced today the first deployment of its TowerMill® technology in Nassau, Bahamas. The TowerMill® pilot is designed to provide energy on a continuous basis to power all of the electronics for the tower's full functionality. The TowerMill® is another product line in the Company's portfolio and is a derivative of WindStream's patented SolarMill® renewable energy technology. Configured to provide autonomous power to telecommunications towers globally, the TowerMill® uses wind and solar energy to charge a battery bank and, as a fail safe, has a fuel-based generator set as a last resort back-up if the batteries cannot provide the needed power.

This Bahamas pilot has a hybrid capacity of 10KW, and is installed where there is no available connection to the utility grid. The wind resources in The Bahamas, in combination with solar energy, create the opportunity to recharge batteries up to 24hrs daily, and to greatly improve energy availability and customer reliability. In addition to the elimination of noise and air pollution from the onsite generator, the need for daily refueling is substantially reduced.

The integration of the TowerMill® with the cell tower equipment will be commissioned later this week by Walker Industries, a certified solar energy provider in The Bahamas offering design, installation, and maintenance of photovoltaic systems. "We are extremely excited to partner with WindStream on the installation of the TowerMill®. We see this installation as a bold step in revolutionizing the renewable energy landscape in The Bahamas," said Ralph Walker, General Manager of Walker Industries.

"We are elated to expand our core applications of the SolarMill® and deepen our product penetration with our clients. High energy costs and diesel fuel prices, in particular at greater than $4.50 per gallon in The Bahamas, are critical challenges facing mobile service carriers, in maintaining service reliability to their customers. The TowerMill® as a clean energy solution meets these challenges head on," said Rolf Simmonds, VP of Business Development at WindStream. "With greater than 20 similar off-grid telecom towers in The Bahamas, all driven from costly diesel generators and an estimated more than 640,000 worldwide, the TowerMill® presents a unique opportunity for the Company as way for owner/operators all over the world to reduce cost and provide consistent energy to a device that must achieve 100% uptime for reliability sake."

With data taken from this first pilot, the Company will market the TowerMill® to other telecommunication companies around the world who face the same cost drivers and challenges of providing 100% reliability for its subscribers while reducing cost and responding to governmental regulation demanding the switch to renewable resources.