Mr. Michael Carten reports

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY MARKET UPDATE: GERMANY LAUNCHES INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR SOLAR ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS

Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd. has confirmed that the German government will implement the expected incentive program for residential solar energy storage systems, beginning May 1, 2013 (see news release dated Feb. 19, 2013).

Under the program, owners of grid connected solar energy storage systems with power ratings up to 30 kilowatts can apply for a 30-per-cent repayment bonus and will be eligible for low-interest loans for up to 100 per cent of the total system cost from government-owned KFW Bankengruppe.

"Our energy storage inverter is a perfect fit for this program, since it's one of the few inverters that meet the German VDE 4105 interconnection standard, with total freedom to charge and discharge at high efficiency according to real-time requirements," said Brent Harris, chief technology officer of Sustainable Energy. "As it did for solar power, Germany is providing the leadership with smart-grid innovation to increase the use of renewable energy and optimize the existing power grid infrastructure. It is, in fact, the widespread use of decentralized energy storage systems that will actually enable the transition to greater penetration of renewable energy and electric vehicles into our electricity system."

According to a report published by Reuters earlier this year, tens of thousands of solar battery systems in Germany alone this year and estimates are for a total of 9,000 megawatts over next six years (Reuters: Solar Batteries Could be Utilities Next Headache; Reuters, March 8, 2013). At current market prices, the estimated value of energy storage inverters to be delivered over this period would be in excess of $3.6-billion.

Sustainable Energy's energy storage inverter

Sustainable Energy's bidirectional energy storage inverter directly connects high-efficiency batteries to the grid with the power industry's highest round-trip (battery charging and discharging) efficiencies. Unlike most inverters, the company's platform has an open industry-standard communications protocol which enables full utility control over the battery dispatch and power quality functions needed for smart-grid operations.

The software configurable platform has been designed from the ground up to be easily integrated into power management systems, allowing original equipment manufacturing partners to quickly develop lower-cost products for multiple markets around the same electronics platform. The energy storage inverter is CE certified and meets all VDE smart-grid connectivity standards. The same inverter is currently on track for certification for North American and Japanese markets during this quarter.

We seek Safe Harbor.