Tim Choate Joins Helio Micro Utility, Inc. Board; To Serve as Chief Marketing Officer

Internet Veteran and Successful Entrepreneur joins Green Energy Pioneer

BERKELEY, Calif., July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Helio Micro Utility, Inc. (Helio mU), the green power pioneer selling solar energy without the upfront cost of panels, today announced the appointment of Tim Choate to its Board of Directors. Mr. Choate will also serve as the company's Chief Marketing Officer. Helio mU provides green electricity to homeowners and commercial entities through the innovative Helio Green Energy Plan(TM), with no upfront cost to install and manage solar panels.

"Tim brings a very strong background in Internet marketing to our team," said Helio mU's Chairman, Ian Rogoff. "He has also successfully led companies through many stages of funding and growth, including initial public offerings. We anticipate Tim making a significant contribution in marketing innovative solar energy financing products to our growing base of customers."

Mr. Choate began his online career at Prodigy, an early consumer online service and Softdisk Publishing, a software subscription company. In 1994, he launched FreeShop.com, a top 20 website dedicated to direct marketing offers from major brands. He led FreeShop through significant growth and its NASDAQ Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 1999. He continued with FreeShop through the market challenges of 2000 and a name change to Aptimus, and successfully sold the company in 2007 to Apollo Group, Inc., owners of the University of Phoenix, the Internet's largest advertiser.

"I am thrilled to bring together my passion for building companies with my personal commitment to assist businesses with a green energy focus," said Mr. Choate. "Helio mU's model is a completely new approach which will accelerate conversion to solar power. I'm looking forward to helping Helio mU achieve widespread adoption of its energy finance products."

Mr. Choate has served as a Board member for multiple early and later stage companies, including Digital River, Traveling Software, PhotoTrust, and ImproveMyBusiness.com, as well as Online Interactive and Aptimus. He continues to serve on the board of RemitHome, an Internet based remittance service for the Philippines.

For the arts, Mr. Choate serves as Board President for the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, and for the Imagination Foundation, which he and his wife began to support arts, education and environmental programs. He also serves on the Board for Park Day School in Oakland, CA and is on the marketing advisory committee for Sonoma Land Trust. Mr. Choate holds a B.S.E. degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

About Helio Micro Utility (Helio mU): Helio mU offers innovative financial products engineered to meet the growing demands of the renewable energy market. The Company currently is focused on providing solar electricity to residential, commercial and not-for-profit customers with little or no initial capital outlay though long term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The Helio Green Energy Plan(TM) guarantees customers receive cost-effective and predictable energy pricing and maximum system performance over the life of the agreement. For more information please visit: http://www.heliomu.com/.

The statements made in this press release, which are not historical facts, contain certain forward-looking statements to which this release pertains. The actual results of the specific items described in this release, and the company's operations generally, may differ materially from what is projected in such forward-looking statements. Although such statements are based upon the best judgments of the company, significant deviations in magnitude, timing and other factors may result from business risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, the companies' dependence on third parties, market conditions, technical factors and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the companies mentioned in this release.

CONTACT: Glenna Wiseman of Helio Micro Utility, Inc., +1-760-518-6158, gwiseman@heliomu.com

Web site: http://www.heliomu.com/

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