FuelCell Energy Announces Combined Heat and Power Fuel Cell Solution for University of California, Irvine Medical Center
June 20 2014 - 8:30AM
- Clean, quiet and affordable on-site power that supports
carbon neutrality goals
- Highly efficient combined heat & power
configuration will support absorption cooling
FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL), a global leader in the design,
manufacture, operation and service of ultra-clean, efficient and
reliable fuel cell power plants, announced the development of a
project to install a 1.4 megawatt (MW) fuel cell power plant to
provide both electricity and usable high quality heat to the
University of California, Irvine Medical Center. The power plant
will generate about 30 percent of the facility power needs, while
the heat produced will be used in a direct exhaust absorption
chiller to produce 200 tons of cooling for an office building and
associated institutional requirements. The medical center, a
campus with a 412-bed acute care facility, will enjoy the benefits
of clean, quiet and affordable on-site power while avoiding a
capital investment by purchasing the power and heat under a
multi-year power purchase agreement. FuelCell Energy will
install, operate and maintain the plant.
"The University of California is a national leader in
sustainability and effective actions to reduce greenhouse gases as
we work towards carbon neutrality by the year 2025," said Morris
Frieling, chief financial officer, UC Irvine Medical Center. "This
fuel cell installation fits perfectly with our ambitious goals of
adopting alternative energy sources, embracing energy efficiency,
and supporting California's carbon Cap and Trade Program, all while
enhancing our power reliability with on-site power
generation."
"Stationary fuel cell power plants are a solution whose time has
come for addressing the myriad of power generation challenges
facing our society," said Professor Scott Samuelsen, Director,
National Fuel Cell Research Center at UCI. "The value is
clear, ranging from the avoidance of costly and inefficient power
transmission, to enhanced power reliability from on-site
generation, to the attractive emission profile of fuel cells with
their low carbon footprint and virtual absence of criteria
pollutants."
The power plant will be configured for combined cooling, heating
and power (CCHP) so that the same unit of fuel generates both
ultra-clean power and usable high quality heat that will be used
both for heating water and converting a portion of the heat into
cooling for air conditioning. By reducing usage of electricity
based chillers for space cooling, the medical center will benefit
financially through avoided electricity costs and support the
environment by avoiding the pollutants and greenhouse gases emitted
by centralized conventional power plants. The heat will be
turned into cooling via a direct exhaust absorption
chiller. This CCHP Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plant
installation is exempt from air permitting under the California
South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 219, due to the
low carbon and virtual absence of criteria pollutants, accelerating
the project development process.
"This project is a private/public partnership demonstrating how
private capital can support public goals with clean and affordable
power for a public institution," said Chip Bottone, President and
Chief Executive Officer, FuelCell Energy, Inc. "Due to the highly
efficient power generation process, stationary fuel cell power
plants are virtually absent of the pollutants that cause smog and
acid rain and are exempt from the State of California Cap-and-Trade
Program so UC Irvine Medical Center will see its Compliance
Obligation reduced, avoiding carbon tax payments and increasing
savings."
FuelCell Energy is developing this project and expects to close
on permanent financing on or before the commercial operation date
of the power plant. The medical center has entered into a
multi-year power purchase agreement to buy the electricity produced
by the fuel cell power plant, while the cooling benefits are
provided as an additional benefit to the medical center.
Since the fuel cell power plant generates power without
combustion, its exhaust is virtually pollution-free. Compared
to the electric grid, the fuel cell installation will annually
avoid the emission of 28 tons of smog-producing nitrogen oxide
(NOx), 64 tons of sulfur dioxide (SOx) that causes acid rain, 3,000
pounds of particulate matter (PM10) that can aggravate asthma, and
more than 7,000 tons of CO2, a greenhouse gas, which is equivalent
to removing more than 1,000 cars from the road.
The National Fuel Cell Research Center analyzed the attributes
and value streams of stationary fuel cells, monetizing their value
compared to other distributed generation power technologies in
relation to both criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases. The
principal conclusions of the analysis is that fuel cells provide
significant value (1) through cogeneration, digester gas use,
avoided central station generation, and associated avoided
emissions, and (2) to significantly reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.
A chart accompanying this release is available at
http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/8041/file/27143.pdf
Large fuel cell value analysis
Fuel cells electrochemically convert a fuel source into
electricity and heat in a highly efficient process that emits
virtually no pollutants due to the absence of combustion. The
Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) stationary fuel cell power plants
manufactured by FuelCell Energy utilize carbonate fuel cell
technology and provide continuous baseload power located where the
power is used, including both on-site applications and electric
grid support. The combination of near-zero pollutants, modest
land-use needs, and quiet operating nature of these stationary fuel
cell power plants facilitates locating the power plants in urban
locations. The power plants are fuel flexible, capable of
operating on natural gas, on-site renewable biogas, or directed
biogas.
About FuelCell Energy
Direct FuelCell® power plants are generating ultra-clean,
efficient and reliable power at more than 50 locations
worldwide. With more than 300 megawatts of power generation
capacity installed or in backlog, FuelCell Energy is a global
leader in providing ultra-clean baseload distributed generation to
utilities, industrial operations, universities, municipal water
treatment facilities, government installations and other customers
around the world. The Company's power plants have generated
more than 2.5 billion kilowatt hours of ultra-clean power using a
variety of fuels including renewable biogas from wastewater
treatment and food processing, as well as clean natural
gas. For more information, please visit
www.fuelcellenergy.com
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Direct FuelCell, DFC, DFC/T, DFC-H2 and FuelCell Energy, Inc.
are all registered trademarks of FuelCell Energy, Inc. DFC-ERG
is a registered trademark jointly owned by Enbridge, Inc. and
FuelCell Energy, Inc.
CONTACT: FuelCell Energy, Inc.
Kurt Goddard, Vice President Investor Relations
203-830-7494
ir@fce.com
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