| For
Immediate Release
Powerspan Corp.
Appoints Directors from FirstEnergy Corp., The Beacon Group, and
American Electric Power
New Durham,
NH - July 24, 2000 -- Powerspan Corp., an emerging energy
technology company, today announced the appointment of Guy L. Pipitone,
Preston R. (Jeff) Miller, Jr., and Martin (Marty) L. Mearhoff to
the Company's board of directors. This announcement comes at the
closing of over $26 million in new financing received from a group
of investors including FirstEnergy Corp., The Beacon Group, American
Electric Power (AEP), Calvert Group, and Zero Stage Capital.
Guy Pipitone, 50, is
Vice President, Fossil Generation, of FirstEnergy Corp., a diversified
energy services holding company. FirstEnergy's electric utility
operating companies comprise the nation's tenth largest electric
system, serving 2.2 million electric customers in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Pipitone has over 25
years of experience in engineering and management of utility operations.
In 1972, Pipitone joined Ohio Edison Company—an operating company
of FirstEnergy—as an engineer and has served in a number of positions
in the generation area, including plant manager of the Gorge and
W. H. Sammis power plants. He has served as manager of the Production
Department, Akron division manager of the Distribution Group, and
vice president of the Generation & Transmission Group. For the Ohio
Edison merger with Centerior Energy, Pipitone was appointed as Transition
Manager. Pipitone was elected to his current position in 1997.
Jeff Miller, 51, is
a partner of The Beacon Group. Beacon is a private investor group
that manages funds totaling billions of dollars across industries
in which they have special knowledge, including energy, financial
services, information distribution and technology, healthcare, and
consumer products and services.
Prior to the formation
of The Beacon Group in 1993, Miller spent 14 years at Goldman, Sachs
& Co. where he was a vice president in the Structured Finance Group.
Miller had global responsibility for coverage of the independent
power industry, asset-backed power generation, and oil and gas financing.
In addition to specialized expertise in power generation, Miller
has a broad background in investment banking, including corporate
finance, private placements, project finance, mergers and acquisitions,
leveraged leasing, tax-exempt financing and principal investments.
Marty Mearhoff, 43,
is vice president of Renewable Energy and Advanced Technologies
at AEP. AEP is a multinational energy company and one of the nation's
largest generators of electricity with more than 38,000 megawatts
of generating capacity and delivering electricity to more than 4.8
million customers in 11 states.
Mearhoff has more than
20 years of experience in utility operations and has held key management
positions in AEP's power generation organization. Beginning his
career with AEP in 1979 in plant engineering, Mearhoff held several
engineering management positions within the mechanical engineering
division prior to being named head of AEP's Environmental Engineering
Services Department in 1993. In 1997, Mearoff was named head of
AEP's Electrical and Mechanical Engineering division. Most recently,
Mearhoff was vice president of Electrical/Mechanical Engineering
for AEP Pro Serv, Inc., the company's professional services organization
providing services to AEP's power plants and third parties.
"The addition of Guy
Pipitone, Jeff Miller, and Marty Mearhoff as directors adds tremendous
depth and breadth to Powerspan's board. Their contributions will
be vital as we complete development and prepare for full-scale commercial
delivery of ECO systems on coal-fired power plants," said Frank
R. Alix, Powerspan Corp. chairman and CEO. Powerspan's patented
Electro-Catalytic OxidationTM (ECO) technology applied
to coal combustion systems provides the functionality of four separate
air emission control technologies in a single integrated system
and produces valuable byproducts that become the feedstock for other
industrial processes.
Pipitone, Miller, and
Mearhoff join current board members Gordon B. Baty, managing director
of Zero Stage Capital—a leading regional venture capital firm based
in Cambridge, MA; Dean Kamen, president and owner of DEKA Research
& Development Corporation—a Manchester, NH, based company specializing
in advanced technologies in medical equipment; Morton E. Goulder
who is involved with numerous venture capital and angel investments;
and Frank R. Alix, chairman and CEO of Powerspan Corp.
About Powerspan
Corp.
Powerspan Corp. is engaged in the development and commercialization
of innovative, proprietary energy technology for the global electric
power industry. The Company is a pioneer in building cost effective
and timely solutions for the existing power generating base. Company
research and development efforts focus on unique applications of
its proprietary electrotechnology to air emission control and water
disinfection. Powerspan offers technology solutions to address the
competitive needs of the new energy economy. More information on
Powerspan is accessible at www.powerspancorp.com.
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Powerspan Corp.
Contact: Stephanie Procopis, Director of Marketing
Phone: (603) 859-2500, ext. 20
Fax: (603) 859-2501
Email:sprocopis@powerspancorp.com
www.powerspancorp.com
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