Beacon Power plans to hire approximately 50 new employees this year at its Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, headquarters, as it ramps up production of its grid-scale flywheel energy storage systems.
The decision to expand the Company’s workforce comes following a series of positive developments, including more than a full year of successful operation on the New England grid, a $43 million conditional loan guarantee commitment from the US Department of Energy (DOE), and the award of a $24 million DOE smart grid stimulus grant. Beacon also raised $20 million in equity investment in December, a portion of which will provide the remaining capital required to close the DOE loan and build the Company’s first full-scale 20 MW plant.
Beacon also raised $20 million in equity investment in December, a portion of which will provide the remaining capital required to close the DOE loan and build the company’s first full-scale 20 MW plant.
The flywheels being produced this year will be installed at Beacon’s 20 MW plant in Stephentown, New York, which is currently under construction. A portion of this first plant is expected to begin earning revenue by providing frequency regulation, an essential grid-balancing service, on the New York State electricity grid in the fourth quarter of this year.
