Beacon Power
Beacon Power is an American limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Rockland Capital LLC specializing in flywheel-based energy storage headquartered in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. Beacon designs and develops products aimed at utility frequency regulation for power grid operations.
The storage systems are designed to help utilities match supply with varying demand by storing excess power in arrays of flywheels at off-peak times for use during peak demand.History
Beacon Power was founded in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1997 as a subsidiary of SatCon Technology Corporation, a maker of alternative energy management systems. The company went public in 2000.
In June 2008, Beacon Power opened new headquarters in Tyngsboro, with financing from Massachusetts state agencies. The new facility is intended to support an expansion of the company's operation.
In 2009 Beacon received a loan guarantee from the United States Department of Energy for $43 million to build a 20-megawatt flywheel power plant in Stephentown, New York.
On 30 October 2011, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under in the United States bankruptcy court in Delaware. As part of the bankruptcy court proceedings, Beacon Power agreed on November 18 to sell its Stephentown facility to repay the DOE loan.
As of 6 February 2012, Rockland Capital, a private equity firm, bought the plant and most of the company's other assets for $30.5 million. Rockland Capital intends to rehire most of staff and to provide the capital to build a second 20MW plant in Pennsylvania.
In May 1, 2018, investment arm of RGA Labs acquired the company.
