Date: Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Trading Symbol: OTCBB:OEGY
Open Energy Completes SunCone CSP Engineering Design
Company expects to issue RFQ's for first commercial unit in March of 2007
SOLANA BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2007 -- Open Energy Corp. (OTC BB: OEGY) announced today it has completed the engineering drawings and performance criteria for a commercially viable SunCone concentrating solar desalination system. This initial design is primarily geared toward decontamination of drinking water in remote, off-grid locations. The engineering team anticipates that it will be coupled with off-the-shelf membrane filtration or multi-stage flash distillation hardware, depending upon the specific water input sources to be treated. This same design can be used to supplant conventional thermal power system applications, such as pre-heating steam for turbine electricity.
CEO David Saltman commented, "While Open Energy's primary efforts to date have focused on photovoltaic building products, SunCone CSP will add breadth and diversity to our technology portfolio. The potential applications of this invention are remarkable, from water desalination to supplying process heat for power generation. However, based upon our mission of harnessing the sun to help meet the resource demands of sustainable 21st Century development, we have made a strategic decision to focus on purification. With thousands of people dying of water borne pathogens each day, the social impacts as well as economic benefits compel us to make a meaningful contribution to solving this critical issue."
The functionality of the SunCone CSP system requires few basic components: the SunCone reflector, a solar tracking devise, a target that absorbs the incident radiation and conducts it into a heat transfer fluid (HTF), and application specific hardware to interface with a particular water purification system. Open Energy plans to utilize outside manufacturing entities for the various components, then package systems for distribution.
Through extensive computer modeling and re-engineering, the Company has developed numerous improvements to the first prototype, which utilized aluminized Mylar film suspended in tension to create the SunCone collector. The current design incorporates a more durable hard shell structure, one which the team believes can withstand higher wind forces and will be less expensive to manufacture, install and service.
With these improvements and the Company's own patent filings, Open Energy
will no longer be required to pay a royalty fee going forward to Dr. Pruitt,
and will accrue significant potential savings over the life of the product.
Based on this decision, as of quarter ended November 30, 2006, the Company
has written off the carrying value pertaining to this license agreement.
Dr. Pruitt remains a senior scientific advisor to the company, and his
ray tracing programs have been utilized to determine the optimum geometries
of the new cone design.
About Open Energy
Open Energy Corporation (OTCBB: OEGY) focuses on the development and commercialization
of renewable energy products and technologies for a wide range of applications
including electrical and thermal power production and water desalination.
The Company pursues these objectives through technology innovation, acquisitions,
strategic partnerships and other business strategies. The company’s
mission is to enhance life by harnessing the power of the sun. For more
information please visit our website www.openenergycorp.com.
Safe Harbor for Forward Looking Statements
Except for statements of historical fact, the information presented herein
constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which
may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company
to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors
include general economic and business conditions, customer demand for
its products, the Company’s ability to scale up manufacturing to
meet demand, the Company's competitive position and other factors over
which Open Energy Corporation has little or no control.
Contact:
Integrated Corporate Relations
James McCusker (Media)
203-682-8245
jmccusker@icrinc.com
John Mills (Investor Relations)
800-250-2610
jmills@icrinc.com
