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W hen Peregrine Turbine Technologies LLC first asked Mid-South Engineering Co. for help with its new turbine engine, the engineering con- sultancy did what engineers do best: they tore into the design, researching all aspects of its feasibility and deciding if they wanted to be involved in the project. "We did," recalls Eldon Doody, director of operations in Mid-South Engineering's Millinocket office. "We believe they are working on disruptive technology that could really have a big impact on the costs to generate elec- tricity, whether it uses natural gas or biomass," says Doody of the turbine, which also can be used in applica- tions from aerospace to marine vessel propulsion. He adds that his company and Peregrine Turbine already have been talking to potential first instal- lations, such as Brunswick Landing, Maine gas and electric utilities and various people in state government. Peregrine Turbine's first target for its Peregrine Engine — the com- pany expects to complete a prototype — is distributed energy genera- tion, where power is generated at the point of consumption rather than centrally, potentially saving the cost and inefficiency of energy transmission and distribution over long distances. Distributed energy in itself can disrupt the market: last spring, Central Maine Power and renewable energy advocates sparred over the utility's plan to raise monthly charges on businesses and homes that produce their power by solar, wind or other renewable energy sources connected to the electric grid. Yet distributed energy systems are making inroads in Maine and other areas of New England. A report by Synapse Energy Economics Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., found nine community-based renewable pilot distributed generation projects in Maine, with a total installed capacity of . megawatts. e report pre- dicted Maine will see little growth in such systems, however, because the state's policies to promote distributed generation are not as aggressive as in most other New England states. "We anticipate that Maine will continue to experience modest growth in dis- tributed generation installations and — barring the adoption of new, more aggressive policies — could expect to see up to megawatts by ," the report's authors concluded. But David Stapp, CEO and chief technology officer at Peregrine Turbine, believes his new turbine could be a game-changer. He sees his company's technology as able to rival electricity prices of natural gas-fired, com- bined-cycle plants, which are popular now in the power industry. e difference is scale. Combined-cycle plants are typically for large cities like Los Angeles, for exam- ple, generating around megawatts of electricity at high efficiency and low cost of about cents per kilowatt hour, he says. Stapp expects the Peregrine Engine to produce electricity at . cents per kilowatt hour. "With our engine, our efficiencies and capital costs are in the same ballpark as a natural gas-fired, combined-cycle power plant," says Stapp, whose com- pany is located at the Wiscasset Airport. "But because we're [generating electric- ity] at the megawatt scale, you can park this [turbine generator] in the community where the power is being consumed. You don't have to pipe it over the grid." LOCAL POWER Peregrine Turbine's new approach to distributed energy generation Peregrine Turbine Technologies LLC 96 Chewonki Neck Road, Wiscasset CEO: David Stapp Founded: April 2012 Business: Turbine engines Employees: 7 full-time in Maine (plus outside contractors) Funding: Closed $4.3 million equity raise, now raising $5.7 million more Contact: (207) 512-4170 www.peregrineturbine.com R E N D E R I N G / P E R E G R I N E T U R B I N E T E C H N O L O G I E S L L C Peregrine Turbine Technologies LLC, which is based in Wiscasset, has developed turbine technology it says will improve efciency. It could be used in aerospace, ships and distributed energy generation. VO L . X X I N O. I V F E B R UA R Y 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 12

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