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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 07, 2006

The Skystream, Next-Generation Backyard Wind Generator, Awarded a 2006 Best of What’s New Award from Popular Science in the Home Category

The ultimate Popular Science accolade, Best of What’s New represents a year’s worth of work evaluating thousands of technologies

FLAGSTAFF - AZ, November 7, 2006/PRNewswire/ -- Today Southwest Windpower announced its newest product, the Skystream 3.7™, has been awarded a 2006 Best of What’s New Award from Popular Science in the Home category. Each year, Popular Science reviews thousands of new products and innovations and includes the top 100 winners in its annual Best of What’s New issue. To win, a product or technology must represent a significant step forward in its category.

“Best of What’s New is the ultimate Popular Science accolade, representing a year’s worth of work evaluating thousands of projects,” said Mark Jannot, editor of Popular Science. “These awards honor innovations that not only influence the way we live today, but that change the way we think about the future.”

Skystream is a next-generation residential power appliance that hooks up to the home to help reduce or eliminate monthly electricity costs. Skystream is the first compact, user-friendly, all-inclusive wind generator (with controls and inverter built in) designed to provide quiet, clean electricity in very low winds. With Skystream, homeowners and small business owners now have the power to choose their electricity source.

“Skystream will change how Americans power their homes with clean wind energy,” said Andy Kruse, co-founder of Southwest Windpower. “This is a dream our company has had for some time. Now, with Skystream, grid-connected residential wind energy is finally mainstream.”

Developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Skystream was designed to be a quiet, convenient, affordable way to protect homeowners from rising electricity costs. With no batteries, Skystream connects directly to the home. When the wind is blowing, the home is powered (in part) by Skystream; when it’s not, the home is seamlessly powered by the utility as usual. During periods of strong winds, Skystream can actually produce excess electricity. Depending on the utility, the home’s meter spins backwards—giving the homeowner credit for a later date, if net metering is allowed. Skystream produces energy at less than half the cost of any other renewable energy technology.

The Skystream will be featured in December’s Popular Science special editorial section, on news stands November 14. The Skystream will also be featured at the Popular Science Best of What’s New Showcase in New York Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall. The three-day consumer event is open to the public, beginning November 7. For more information about Skystream, please visit www.skystreamenergy.com.

About Southwest Windpower
Flagstaff Arizona-based Southwest Windpower is the world’s largest producer of small wind generators (400 to 3000 watts). The 20-year old company has been a pioneer in the development of wind technology and has produced over 90,000 generators that provide power to residential homes, remote cabins, telecom transmitters, offshore platforms, water pumping and sailboats. Southwest Windpower’s newest wind turbine, the Skystream 3.7, is the first fully-integrated wind generator designed specifically for the grid-connected residential market.  Southwest Windpower distributes in more than 88 countries. On the Web: www.skystreamenergy.com

About Best of What's New
Each year, the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products in search of the top 100 tech innovations of the year; breakthrough products and technologies that represent a significant leap in their categories. The winners — the Best of What's New — are awarded inclusion in the much-anticipated December issue of Popular Science, the most widely read issue of the year since the debut of Best of What's New in 1987. Best of What’s New awards are presented to 100 new products and technologies in 10 categories: Automotive, Aviation & Space, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets, General Innovation, Home Entertainment, Home Tech, Personal Health and Recreation.

About Popular Science
Founded in 1872, Popular Science is the world’s largest science and technology magazine; with a circulation of 1.45 million and 6.5 million monthly readers. Each month, Popular Science reports on the intersection of science and everyday life, with an eye toward what’s new and why it matters. Popular Science is published by Time4 Media, a subsidiary of Time Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

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