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Dow Corning presented a variety of innovative silicone-based materials designed to improve reliability, durability, and performance of wind turbines at the China Wind Power 2009, held last week in Beijing. This is the first year that Dow Corning participated in the wind power exhibition in China as a result of the increasing attention and recognition being garnered by the Chinese wind power market.     

“Wind turbine engineers, manufacturers and operators around the world rely on Dow Corning for smart enabling technologies and materials that allow more efficient, powerful turbines; reduce operation and maintenance costs; and improve uptime,” said Tom Cook, Corporate Vice President and General Manager for China. “We are eager to build stronger relationships with researchers, producers and governments in China as we help develop efficient ways of generating wind power energy."

Some of the innovations that Dow Corning featured at this event were:

• Blade and Fiber Reinforcement -- Dow Corning coupling agents improve dry/ wet mechanical strength and leads to higher durability. Dow Corning’s new resin coating products can be applied onto wind blades as a top-coat providing unique surface protection such as firmness, water/ ice repellency, and significant UV resistance.
  
  
• Wind Turbine Blade Bonding and Sealing -- Silicone sealants are appropriate in extreme environments and offer heavy-duty reliability, capable of preventing problems on a complete range of wind turbine components, including blades, nacelle housings, gearboxes and tower systems. 
  
  
• Generator Insulation and Protection -- Dow Corning offers solutions for generator stators, inverters, controllers, sensors and heat exchangers. 
  
  
• Pitch Bearing, Yaw Bearing and other Bearings Lubrication and Protection --Dow Corning’s MOLYKOTE® specialty lubricants provide trusted performance for meeting many of the world’s most demanding lubrication challenges, such as those often found on turbines and towers. 
  
  
• Indoor/ Outdoor Transformer Optimization   -- Dow Corning offers proven, premium quality silicone fluids through its XIAMETER® brand that ensure maximum performance in challenging environments. XIAMETER® PMX-561 Transformer Liquid is a superior, stable, dielectric, fire resistant insulation option and is a high-performance choice for optimal life cycle cost considerations.

Dow Corning has also been supporting the wind power industry globally as a consumer. On February 10, Dow Corning announced an agreement to purchase more than 14,000 megawatt hours of wind generated renewable energy through Consumers Energy’s Green Generation program, making Dow Corning one of the largest private purchasers of renewable energy in the State of Michigan.  By using wind generated electricity, approximately 10,000 tons of CO₂ will be prevented from being released into the environment.

The amount of energy purchased through this agreement is equivalent to nearly 100 percent of the electrical load required at Dow Corning's Corporate Headquarters in Midland, Mich., a site with more than 1,100 employees and home to the company’s technically sophisticated global research and development center.

“This underscores Dow Corning’s leadership and commitment that goes beyond the production of components for all types of wind power applications to the use of renewable energy to meet our power needs,” said Cook.

About Dow Corning

Dow Corning provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, Dow Corning offers more than 7,000 products and services via the company’s Dow Corning® and XIAMETER® brands. Dow Corning is a joint venture equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning’s annual sales are outside the United States.

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