New Siemens Research Turbine Commissioned at NREL Site

Government-industry R&D partnership is largest ever

GOLDEN, Colo., Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Siemens Energy, Inc. and the U.S.
Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) today
formally commissioned a new 2.3-megawatt Siemens wind turbine at NREL's
National Wind Technology Center. The turbine is the centerpiece of a
multi-year project to study the performance and aerodynamics of a new class of
large, land-based machines - in what will be the biggest government-industry
research partnership for wind power generation ever undertaken in the
U.S.Under the initial phase of the $14 million research program, Siemens will
contribute $9 million, NREL $5 million.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO)

"At Siemens, innovation is one of our core values. That's why we are
especially pleased to join forces with our nation's leading wind research
facility," said Barry Nicholls, senior vice president of Siemens Energy, Inc.
"This important new research program will help us further enhance the
performance of our turbines and lower the cost of clean, wind-generated power,
which in turn will help diversify the overall mix of power generation sources
in the U.S."

Under their Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), Siemens
and NREL will test basic turbine characteristics and verify new performance
enhancing features of the pilot turbine over a minimum of three years - and
potentially longer. Testing will include a full range of real-world operating
regimens, including severe weather conditions.

"Today begins a new era of research at NREL's National Wind Technology
Center," said NREL Director Dan Arvizu. "With our partners at Siemens Energy,
we will embark on a comprehensive R&D program that will pave the way for the
even more advanced wind turbines of the future."

Culminating today's event, Arvizu and Nicholls joined Colorado Gov. Bill
Ritter in flipping a switch that symbolically commissioned the giant machine,
fitted with a 331-foot-diameter rotor, mounted atop a 262-foot tower. Gov.
Ritter addressed the assembled gathering of community and business leaders,
while the Golden High School Marching Band provided a celebratory note.

The Siemens 2.3-MW turbine is among the largest land-based turbines deployed
in the United States and is the largest at the NWTC site. Planned testing
includes structural and performance testing; modal, acoustics and power
quality testing; as well as aerodynamic testing and turbine performance
enhancements. A new meteorological tower to the west of the Siemens turbine
will feature more than 60 instruments to collect the most advanced data
available on wind, temperature, dew point, precipitation and other weather
features that can influence the performance and lifespan of a wind turbine.

NREL researchers also are interested in the foundations required beneath the
ground to support larger wind turbines. NREL and Renewable Energy Systems
Americas (RES) have entered into a separate but coordinated agreement to study
the design and performance of turbine foundations, with goals of increasing
the reliability of non-turbine components and reducing turbine installation
costs.

The new turbine and other new projects underway at the NWTC also allow NREL to
take a significant step forward in generating its own clean electricity to
accomplish the laboratory's aggressive sustainability goals - including the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time meeting the
energy needs of NREL's expanding campus. DOE and Xcel Energy are negotiating
an agreement for surplus energy to be exported and sold to the local utility
grid.

Installation of the pilot turbine at the National Wind Technology Center
follows Siemens' decision to locate its own wind power research and
development center in nearby Boulder. That office is expected to grow to 40
engineers and other staff by 2013. This turbine project is part of a
coordinated wind research program supported by the DOE Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

The Siemens Energy Sector is the world's leading supplier of a complete
spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission
and distribution of power and for the extraction, conversion and transport of
oil and gas. In fiscal 2008 (ended September 30), the Energy Sector had
revenues of approximately EUR22.6 billion and received new orders totaling
approximately EUR33.4 billion and posted a profit of EUR1.4 billion. On
September 30, 2008, the Energy Sector had a work force of approximately
83,500. Further information is available at: www.siemens.com/energy.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for
renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is
operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. Visit NREL
online at www.nrel.gov.

SOURCE Siemens Energy, Inc.

Monika Wood of Siemens Energy, Inc., +1-407-455-2076, monika.wood@siemens.com