1st Rochdale and Touchstone Energy to Announce 'Green Apple' Renewable Energy Program to Alleviate New York's Overburdened Electric Grid

NEW YORK, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ — Journalists are invited to attend a joint announcement by Allen L. Thurgood, the chairman and chief executive officer of 1st Rochdale Cooperative Group, Ltd., and Jim Bausell, the chief operating officer of Touchstone Energy®, unveiling 1st Rochdale's ``Green Apple'' Renewable Energy Program to alleviate New York City's overburdened electric grid through energy management and renewable and sustainable sources such as solar power and gas turbine, microturbine, and fuel cell technologies. (Visit http://www.1stRochdaleNYC.net and http://www.touchstoneenergy.com .)

Remarks will follow buffet lunch at noon, Monday, December 11 at the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, Manhattan.

``At a time when electric supply has tightened and prices have risen sharply, many commercial and residential consumers are turning to reliable, renewable and sustainable 'green' fuel products, such as solar systems, gas turbines, microturbines and distributed fuel cells,'' said Thurgood. ``Meanwhile, as electric restructuring takes shape, energy services companies such as 1st Rochdale are free to innovate on behalf of the consumer to apply fuel-efficient 'green' technologies toward alleviating the overburdened electric grid.'' 1st Rochdale is one of the fastest growing energy services companies, and the only electric cooperative, serving New York City and Westchester County, N.Y.

``Touchstone Energy is pleased to see consumers here in New York City seize upon the type of innovation that rural Americans have enjoyed for decades, through energy co-ops from coast to coast,'' said Bausell, who will speak at the Dec. 11 news conference. 1st Rochdale is a Touchstone Energy cooperative.

Also speaking at the Dec. 11 news conference will be William R. Howell, the chairman of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (www.nyserda.com ), a key underwriter of 1st Rochdale's ``Green Apple'' Renewable Energy Program. ``NYSERDA is pleased to be working with 1st Rochdale,'' said Howell. ``Our goal in supporting projects like this is to help build a sustainable market for photovoltaics (solar energy systems). Renewable energy sources have to become part of our energy future for both energy and environmental reasons, and projects like this can go a long way toward making that goal a reality.''

News conference to demonstrate 1st Rochdale's 'Green Apple' fuel products

1st Rochdale's ``Green Apple'' Renewable Energy Program encompasses four fuel-efficient technologies:

1. Solar systems. For a growing number of facility planners and building contractors in search of highly reliable energy technologies, the sun has become the power source of choice. Thanks to recent advances in silicon technology, manufacturers now install durable crystalline panels on rooftops or integrate Thin Film (``Amorphous Silicon'') directly into building materials, including roofing, windows and siding.

In Sacramento, Calif., for example, residents have reduced their reliance on fossil and nuclear fuels and improved the reliability of their power grid ever since they embraced solar power on a grand scale several years ago. It happens that Sacramento enjoys roughly the same amount of sunshine as do many Eastern cities, including New York.

To meet rising customer demand here in New York, 1st Rochdale is increasing the energy supply by marketing solar power systems throughout the City and Westchester. Excess capacity can feed back into to the electric grid, rendering it less vulnerable to power outages during peak demand. The sun's power is thus environmentally responsible and energy-efficient for business facilities and residential customers.

The Dec. 11 news conference will feature a demonstration of the state-of- the-art in solar power systems installed on New York City rooftops.

In addition to marketing solar power systems, 1st Rochdale is teaming up with the energy services company Tanzania Power LLC to build New York City's first all-solar powered building. Several sites in Harlem are presently under active consideration, with groundbreaking scheduled for spring 2002.

2. Combustion gas-turbine systems. They may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but natural gas-burning turbines, derived from jet-engine technology, are one of the cleanest, most efficient fuels of the twenty-first century. 1st their partners are evaluating cost-competitive combustion gas turbine systems as an energy supplement to the underground electric grid. These dispersed systems will deliver up to 80 megawatts directly to areas of New York City's grid requiring electricity during peak summer demand and other times when power is most needed.
   
   
3. Microturbine systems. Smaller than combustion gas turbines, microturbine systems produce energy quickly and in sufficient volume for a customer to withstand power outages. They can sit atop a commercial building or inside an apartment boiler room or household basement. Implementation of microturbine systems will play a crucial role in 2001, as New York braces for yet another hot summer, during which the increasing year-to-year rate of demand continues to outpace supply.
   
   
4. Fuel cell systems. 1st Rochdale has teamed up with H Power Corp. (http://www.hpower.com ) and Energy Co-Opportunity (http://www.e-coop.org ) to market state-of-the-art hydrolytic power to New Yorkers. Hydrolytic fuel cells burn nothing at all. Instead, they actually recharge themselves by combining hydrogen and oxygen in such a way as to produce up to 25 kilowatts of electricity. Only recently have fuel cells become available on a commercial basis. Large fuel cells for commercial purposes are stationary, while household models, such as H Power's EPAC-500 system, are smaller.

The Dec. 11 news conference will feature a demonstration of the EPAC-500 fuel cell system's use and application.

Customers of 1st Rochdale Cooperative Group's ``Green Apple'' Renewable Energy Program include Amalgamated Bank, East Midtown Plaza, Amalgamated Housing, and other businesses and residences across the five boroughs and Westchester.

For additional information on 1st Rochdale Cooperative Group and its full range of energy programs, including those of Twin Pines Fuels Corp., a subsidiary providing heating oil, natural gas and other energy products to consumers across 14 states stretching from Maine to Virginia, please visit http://www.1stRochdaleNYC.net , published online in English, Spanish and Russian.

SOURCE: National Rural Electric Cooperative Association