EXPANSION CAPITAL PARTNERS LLC INVESTS $4.5 MILLION
IN ORION ENERGY SYSTEMS

Pioneer in Clean Technology Venture Capital Invests in the Leading Provider of Energy Management and Efficient Lighting Solutions

San Francisco and New York, August 7, 2006 – Expansion Capital Partners, LLC, a dedicated clean technology venture capital firm, today announced a $4.5 million Series C investment in Plymouth, WI based Orion Energy Systems.

Orion Energy Systems, led by CEO Neal Verfuerth, Ernst & Young’s 2004 Wisconsin Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year, is a power technology company specializing in the design, development, manufacture and deployment of energy efficient lighting systems and controls for manufacturing, warehousing, commercial and institutional markets. Orion’s products and services deliver immediate and sustainable financial, workplace and environmental benefits to energy users throughout the United States.  In the last year alone, Orion lighting systems helped customers save more than $37 million and 600 million kilowatt hours (kWh).

“The combination of Orion’s exceptional energy management solutions and demand response potential, and their proven leadership in innovation and quality manufacturing, are strong indicators that the company will continue to excel,” said Diana Propper, General Partner, Expansion Capital Partners. “We were impressed with Orion’s leading edge products and systems, which deliver extraordinary energy cost savings, thus reducing carbon emissions. Given Orion’s solid customer base, including 60 of the Fortune 1000 companies, we see a platform for Orion to sustain its 70% annual growth rate of the last five years.”

“Our partnership with Expansion Capital Partners will help Orion Energy Systems to accelerate our efforts to develop and deploy new technologies and solutions for large scale energy management. At a time when demand for electricity is at record levels and electricity rates continue to rise at a record pace, we are proud of the positive impacts our products and solutions provide to the nation’s energy supply, the environment and our customers’ bottom lines,” said Neal Verfuerth, Orion’s CEO and President. “I believe Orion’s high performance lighting technology platform and our production capabilities place Orion at the forefront of responding to the urgent and growing need for cost-effective, sustainable and environmentally friendly sources of power in the U.S.”

About Expansion Capital Partners, LLC
Founded in 2002, Expansion Capital Partners, LLC, invests venture capital exclusively in expansion-stage, Clean Technology enterprises. The firm targets companies that offer dramatic improvements in resource efficiency and productivity, while creating more economic value with less energy and materials, or less waste and toxicity. Clean Technology Fund II, LP, invests in US and Canadian enterprises with current customer revenues of $2-20 million, combined with solid prospects of attaining $30-$100M in revenues within 3-5 years. The fund makes initial investments of $2M to $5M, with its Partners taking active, value-add Board roles. Expansion Capital has offices in San Francisco and New York.

Further information can be found at www.expansioncapital.com or by calling Kjartan Jansen at Expansion Capital Partners, 415-788-8825.

Press Contact:
Matt Landry
Matter Communications, Inc.
978-499-9250, x 226;
matt@matternow.com  

About Orion Energy Systems
Orion Energy Systems has been innovating in the energy and lighting business since 1996. Orion Energy Services of Plymouth earned the 2006 first-place award in the 35th annual Governor's New Product Awards and was rated the highest by Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineer judges amongst all the other GNPA entrants. In 2005, Neal Verfuerth, President of Orion Energy Systems, received one of Wisconsin’s most prestigious awards, Ernst & Young’s Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year. In the same year, Orion Energy Systems was named Manufacturer of the Year for the second time and Orion was the recipient of the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air Award given by the Wisconsin DNR. In 2002, Orion also was named the Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Grand Award in the Emerging Growth category.

Orion is a designer and manufacturer of energy efficient lighting solutions for the school, gymnasium, manufacturing, warehousing, and commercial markets. Orion provides capacity displacement solutions for supply side management, transmission management, and demand side management for the electricity industry.

For more information, please contact: Stephen Heins, Vice President of Corporate Communications, Orion Energy Systems, 920-892-9340, ext. 226. sheins@oriones.com or at www.oriones.com.  

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