DFC-ERG system reduces air emissions and achieves record peak electrical efficiency over 70 percent and commercial-level up-time
Leading manufacturer of high efficiency ultra-clean power plants, FuelCell Energy announced that its hybrid power plant reached an average electrical efficiency of 62.5 percent, equipment up-time of 93 percent and reduced greenhouse gas emissions of up to 45 percent.
The Direct FuelCell-Energy Recovery Generation™ (DFC-ERG®) power plant is a joint project with Enbridge Inc. and the results of its first full year of operation underscore its success over a range of scenarios. Enbridge monitored the DFC-ERG plant under several configurations to measure its emissions and electrical efficiency since the plant started to operate in January 2009. They measured the percentage of fuel converted to useful grid power.
Availability was an average of 93 percent for the entire year, but the average of the final six months of 2009 was of over 96 percent. Similarly, although its average electrical efficiency of 62.5 percent compares favorably to a typical conventional fossil fuel generation of about 35 to 40 percent, the plant's peak electrical efficiency topped 70 percent in some of the scenarios under which it was evaluated.
Enbridge used California's clean air standards as the benchmark for air quality testing. Due to high electrical efficiency the system allowed reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45 percent compared to a conventional natural gas power plant.
Chuck Szmurlo, Vice President, Alternative and Emerging Technologies, Enbridge explained: "All the time we were operating this plant and getting remarkable electrical efficiencies, we were seeing availability numbers in the 90s. That tells me this is a commercially robust technology. We will submit our results to be independently verified and, when the review is complete, we'll disclose our data to the industry."
DFC-ERG initial installation was in Toronto, but presently FuelCell Energy and Enbridge are negotiating other installations totaling 18 MW. They were selected by the Connecticut Clean Energy fund as part of that state's renewable energy portfolio. Other gas utilities in U.S. are also evaluating this technology.
Project evaluation by the Asia Pacific Partnership raised international interest. The Asia Pacific Partnership is a clean energy cooperative involving Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
R. Daniel Brdar, CEO and Chairman of FuelCell Energy stated: "Enbridge's validation of the DFC-ERG system is a significant milestone, especially since the market potential is worldwide. It gives gas utilities a way of improving pipeline efficiency, reducing emissions and delivering clean energy to the world's power grid as a byproduct of their daily operations."
