Top White House Advisor on Environment Visits the World's Largest Coal Methane Power Plant

Top White House Advisor on Environment Visits the World's Largest Coal Methane Power Plant

August 13, 2007

Caterpillar generator sets selected to support additional
coal methane projects in Shanxi, China


    BEIJING, Aug. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Representatives
of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) were pleased to accompany
James Connaughton, senior environmental and natural
resources advisor to President George W. Bush, this weekend
as he visited the Sihe Coal Mine in Jincheng city, Shanxi
Province, China. Sihe is the world's largest coal methane
power plant and will use 60 Caterpillar methane-gas-powered
generator sets to create 120 megawatts of power when fully
operational. Following the success of this project,
Caterpillar has been selected to provide an additional 31
methane-gas-powered generator sets to produce 54 megawatts
of power at the Cheng Zhuang and Mei Gan Shi coal mines in
the same city in Shanxi Province. 
 
    "The United States and other nations including
China are working together to set a long-term global goal
for reducing greenhouse gases," said James
Connaughton, who was appointed by President Bush in 2001 to
serve as the Chairman of the Council on Environmental
Quality. "Economic growth, energy security and climate
change must be addressed in an integrated way. The Jincheng
coal methane plants are excellent examples of how to
increase energy use in an environmentally responsible
way," Connaughton added. "We hope to advance more
projects like these through the Asia-Pacific Partnership
(APP) on Clean Development and Climate, which addresses
growing energy demand by advancing clean energy technology
development and deployment."

    The Shanxi Jincheng Anthracite Coal Mining Group Co.,
Ltd. is the project developer for all three coal methane
power plants. Caterpillar will work closely with its dealer
WesTrac China Limited on product commissioning and ongoing
support for these projects. Methane gas found in coal seams
can be highly volatile and it is a major cause of
underground explosions. Historically it has been vented
into the atmosphere. By capturing the previously vented
methane gas and converting it into electricity, the
Caterpillar generator sets will significantly reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, improve mine safety and increase
the capacity of the local power grid. 
 
    "This is a major step forward in China's road to
sustainable development and demonstrates positive bilateral
trade relations between the United States and China,"
said Stu Levenick, Caterpillar group president with
responsibility for Asia.  

    The 11th Five-Year Plan guiding China's development
between 2006 and 2010 emphasizes that building a recyclable
economy is an important way for China to build a
resource-efficient and environment-friendly society, thus
realizing sustainable development. China has set a goal of
reducing the emissions of major pollutants by 10 percent
during this five-year period. As part of the second
Strategic Economic Dialogue, the United States and China
have agreed to develop up to 15 large-scale coalmine
methane capture and utilization projects in China in the
next five years.  

    "Caterpillar is a long-term investor in China, and
we are excited to see that China has positioned methane gas
capture and utilization as a priority." said Rich
Lavin, Chairman of Caterpillar (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
and a Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for
Asia Pacific manufacturing operations. "Our trade
relations will continue to strengthen and produce on-going
returns."  

    The 3500 series generators used in these projects are
produced at Caterpillar's Large Engine Center in Lafayette,
Indiana.   "Caterpillar generator sets have been
producing electricity around the world for nearly 70
years," said Bill Rohner, Caterpillar vice president
with responsibility for the Electric Power Division.
"We are pleased to be involved with these new
opportunities in China."  

    Caterpillar sold its first products in China in 1975
and opened an office in Beijing in 1978.  In the 1980s,
Caterpillar launched technology transfer agreements with
Chinese manufacturers who began building Caterpillar
licensed products. Caterpillar's expansion in China
accelerated in the early 1990s with the establishment of a
more significant local production strategy. In 2006,
Caterpillar located its Asia Pacific Operations
headquarters in Beijing.  

    For more than 80 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been
making progress possible and driving positive and
sustainable change on every continent. With 2006 sales and
revenues of $41.517 billion, Caterpillar is the world's
leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment,
diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines.
The company also is a leading services provider through
Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing
Services, Caterpillar Logistics Services and Progress Rail
Services. More information is available at
http://www.cat.com .

    SAFE HARBOR 

    Certain statements in this release relate to future
events and expectations and as such constitute
forward-looking statements involving known and unknown
factors that may cause actual results of Caterpillar Inc.
to be different from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements. In this context, words such as
"will", "expect",
"anticipate" or other similar words and phrases
often identify forward-looking statements made on behalf of
Caterpillar. It is important to note that actual results of
the company may differ materially from those described or
implied in such forward-looking statements based on a
number of factors and uncertainties, including, but not
limited to, changes in economic conditions; currency
exchange or interest rates; political stability; market
acceptance of the company's products and services;
significant changes in the competitive environment;
epidemic diseases; changes in law, regulations and tax
rates; and other general economic, business and financing
conditions and factors described in more detail in the
company's Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission on February 23, 2007. We do not
undertake to update our forward-looking statements.


    For more information, please contact:

     Jim Dugan
     Government Relations & Corporate Affairs
     Caterpillar (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
     Office: [phone]
     Mobile: [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]

     Kate Wang
     Government Relations & Corporate Affairs
     Caterpillar (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
     Office: [phone]
     Mobile: [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]