[Scpg] FuelCell Power Plant @ Terminal Island Treatment Plant LA

Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson lakinroe at silcom.com
Mon Sep 22 05:28:49 PDT 2003


now here is a great source of Power Santa Barbara and other communities 
should explore instead of Burning off the Gas from our Waste Water 
Treatment Plants

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030919/195221_1.html


City of Los Angeles Dedicates FuelCell Energy's DFC300A Power Plant at 
Terminal Island Treatment Plant
Friday September 19, 12:01 pm ET
Energy-Efficient, Ultra-Clean, Commercial Fuel Cell Will Be a Renewable 
Energy Resource

DANBURY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2003-- FuelCell Energy, Inc. 
(Nasdaq NM: FCEL - News) announced today the addition of one of its 
250-kilowatt Direct FuelCell® power plants to the Los Angeles power grid. 
Operating with biogas fuel generated by the City's treatment plant at 
Terminal Island in San Pedro, the DFC300A power plant will help the City of 
Los Angeles expand its supply of clean, efficient and renewable energy.

City leaders, energy policymakers and environmental groups participated in 
a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to dedicate the Los Angeles Department of 
Water and Power (LADWP) Terminal Island Fuel Cell Power Plant, which 
provides 250 kilowatts of environmentally-clean electricity, enough power 
to serve about 250 households. The plant uses up to 50 percent less fuel 
per kilowatt-hour than the average conventional power plant and produces 
nearly zero emissions of pollutants.

In addition to providing an alternative, ultra-clean source of power for 
Los Angeles, the fuel cell will provide a renewable energy resource. The 
LADWP and the Los Angeles Department of Public Works/Bureau of Sanitation 
agreed to install the fuel cell within the Terminal Island Treatment Plant 
so that it can operate off of digester gas produced through the sewage 
treatment process.

"This Direct FuelCell power plant installation reinforces the position of 
the LADWP as a forward-thinking organization that understands the future of 
clean, efficient and reliable electric power generation," said Herbert T. 
Nock, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales of FuelCell Energy. "The 
Direct FuelCell features a unique technology that enables it to create its 
own hydrogen within the fuel cell module, capturing the benefits of a 
hydrogen-powered economy while utilizing the current natural gas-based 
delivery system.

"A real benefit of our DFC power plants is their ability to operate on 
renewable fuels such as digester gas," Nock added. The Terminal Island fuel 
cell is the company's fourth global DFC power plant installation at a 
wastewater treatment facility.

While the fuel cell currently operates with natural gas, LADWP plans to 
develop a gas-processing unit that will clean and process the biogas so 
that it will be compatible with the requirements of the fuel cell. FuelCell 
Energy expects the fuel cell to be operating on the sewage treatment gas by 
next summer. The plant will represent one of the first fuel cell plants in 
the nation to utilize renewable power.

"I am very excited that the LADWP is committed to reducing our dependence 
on fossil fuels and has located this state-of-the-art, hydrogen-powered 
fuel cell at Terminal Island in San Pedro through a team effort with the 
Bureau of Sanitation," said Councilwoman Janice Hahn, whose district 
includes the Port of Los Angeles.

"This project shows the City's willingness to commit to investing in new 
systems that can help create a cleaner, healthier urban environment."

"When you look at this fuel cell power plant you are really seeing the 
future of a new generation of energy production that not only provides 
clean, highly-efficient energy but also uses renewable resources," said 
David H. Wiggs, LADWP general manager.

FuelCell Energy's DFC300A power plant at Terminal Island is significantly 
cleaner than the average U.S. fossil fuel power plant. Based on annual 
usage, each 250-kilowatt fuel cell power plant displaces the following 
levels of pollutants:
1.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide;
11,000 pounds of nitrogen oxide; and,
25,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide.

The Terminal Island Fuel Cell Power Plant, which costs approximately $2.3 
million (including the cost for developing the gas-processing converter), 
is largely funded through the Department's Public Benefits Program, which 
supports the development of renewable energy and energy efficient 
technology and programs. In addition, the U.S. Department of Defense, with 
administrative support from the U.S. Department of Energy, provided 
$250,000 in grant funding.

About Direct FuelCells

Direct FuelCells efficiently generate clean electricity at distributed 
locations near the customer, including hospitals, schools, universities, 
hotels and other commercial and industrial facilities, as well as in grid 
support applications for utility customers. In essence, Direct FuelCells 
are like large, continuously operating batteries that generate electricity 
as long as fuel, such as natural gas, is supplied. Since the fuel is not 
burned, there is no pollution commonly associated with the combustion of 
fossil fuels. Because hydrogen is generated directly within the fuel cell 
module from readily available fuels such as synthesis gas, natural gas and 
wastewater treatment gas, DFC power plants are ready today and do not 
require the creation of a hydrogen infrastructure. This high-efficiency 
technology generates more electric power from less fuel and with less 
carbon dioxide emissions than traditional methods using combustion.

About FuelCell Energy, Inc.

FuelCell Energy, Inc., based in Danbury, Connecticut, is a world leader in 
the development and manufacture of highly efficient hydrogen fuel cells for 
clean electric power generation, currently offering DFC power plant 
products ranging in size from 250 kilowatts to 2 megawatts for applications 
up to 50 megawatts.

FuelCell Energy has developed commercial distribution alliances for its 
carbonate Direct FuelCell technology with MTU CFC Solutions Gmbh, a company 
of DaimlerChrysler AG, in Europe; Marubeni Corporation in Asia; and 
Caterpillar, PPL Energy Plus, Chevron Energy Solutions and Alliance Power 
in the U.S. FuelCell Energy is developing Direct FuelCell technology for 
stationary power plants with the U.S. Department of Energy through their 
Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory. More 
information is available at www.fuelcellenergy.com.












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