PLUG Plug Power Inc

DTE Energy to Sell Portion of Plug Power Ownership as Part of its Cash Generation Plan DETROIT, May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DTE Energy announced today that it sold, through its wholly owned subsidiary DTE Energy Ventures Inc., 3.5 million shares of the stock it owns in Plug Power Inc. , a fuel-cell development and manufacturing company. "DTE Energy's utilities face near-term regulatory issues including rate cases that have resulted in a renewed focus on cost management and cash generation," said Dave E. Meador, senior vice president and chief financial officer. "In this environment we have taken a range of near-term actions to conserve and generate cash. This sale of a limited portion of our Plug Power stock is consistent with our broader corporate initiative. We anticipate getting clarity on several of these regulatory issues in the second half of this year and we have no plans at this time to sell any additional shares of Plug stock. "We maintain the same enthusiasm today for Plug Power technology and products as we did when we helped form the company nearly seven years ago and we continue to see Plug Power as an attractive investment," Meador added. "Although we're reducing our ownership position with the company, we'll continue to be its largest shareholder." After the sale, DTE Energy Ventures' ownership position totals 10.6 million shares, or 14.5 percent, down from 19.4 percent ownership. DTE Energy continues its business relationship with Plug Power in a number of markets. DTE Energy has placed orders for 10 Plug Power fuel cells for its Hydrogen Technology Park in Southfield, Mich. In addition, Detroit Edison has plans to install Plug Power fuel cells for back-up power at its substations and is evaluating the installation of one of Plug's H2 generation GenSite products at its St. Clair Power Plant. "We truly value our relationship with DTE Energy," said Roger B. Saillant, Plug Power president and CEO. "Over the past seven years, DTE Energy has provided technical and business support and has helped us better understand the value proposition our products can bring to large utility customers. We look forward to continuing this relationship in the years ahead." Plug Power designs and develops on-site energy systems based on proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Plug Power's strategic partners include GE Fuel Cell Systems, DTE Energy Technologies, Vaillant GmbH, Honda R&D Ltd., Engelhard Corp. and Celanese Ventures. The company's headquarters are in Latham, N.Y., with offices in Washington, D.C. and The Netherlands. DTE Energy is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its largest operating units are Detroit Edison, an electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, and MichCon, a natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan. Information about DTE Energy is available at http://dteenergy.com/ . DATASOURCE: DTE Energy CONTACT: Scott Simons of DTE Energy, +1-313-235-8808; or Dave Neumann of Plug Power, +1-518-782-7700 Web site: http://www.dteenergy.com/

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