FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of fuel cell electric power plants for commercial and industrial customers, announced that two units will provide electricity for a 650-bed hospital and a wastewater treatment facility in South Korea as part of the government’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One DFC300A power plant will be installed at Chosun University Hospital in Kwangju, a city of 1.4 million, while the second unit will go to the Tancheon Sewage Treatment Plant, serving South Korea’s capital, Seoul.
The 250 kilowatt (kW) power plants were sold last year by POSCO (NYSE: PKX), a major South Korean industrial concern. The power plant sales were announced in November 2004 as part the agreement among FuelCell Energy, Marubeni Corp. (TSE:8002) and POSCO to distribute and package DFC power plants in Korea. Both power plants are expected to be operational this fall.
The Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) has targeted more than 20 percent of the country’s power generation to be from fuel cells. As part of MOCIE’s long-range plans to foster Korean energy independence and combat global warming, the ministry also is providing 250 billion won (approximately $218 million) through 2008 to develop new and regenerative energy technologies — including fuel cells, solar and wind power.
The fuel cell for Chosun University Hospital, an institution with 24 medical departments staffed by 800 personnel, will be fueled by natural gas, and will provide a portion of the facility’s base load power. Waste heat from the fuel cell will be used to heat hot water for the hospital.
At the Tancheon plant, which processes 19 percent of the Seoul’s daily sewage output, the DFC unit will operate on methane gas generated by the facility’s anaerobic gas digestion process. One of only four sewage treatment plants in the national capital area, Tancheon is a critical link in efforts to clean the Han River, a major waterway running through the region. The treatment plant has a capacity to treat 1.1 million cubic meters (291 million gallons) per day on a 97-acre site in downtown Seoul.
“These two new sitings support our continued focus on developing repeatable business for firm, 24/7 power generation in two of our ten key vertical market segments – hospitals and wastewater treatment facilities,” said Dan Brdar, FuelCell Energy’s Chief Operating Officer.
This summer, MOCIE established a Renewable Portfolio Agreement (RPA) with Korea’s nine largest energy suppliers to support new forms of energy and energy renewal projects in a bid to cope with rising price of crude oil bill. The RPA will lead to the reduction of some 170,000 tons of emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas in global warming, or 0.12 percent of Korea’s total emissions in 2004. The ministry plans to support the participating companies financially and administratively to help them carry out projects.
POSCO, founded in 1968, is the world’s leading steel producer. http://www.posco.co.kr
The Marubeni Corporation, established in 1858, is one of Japan’s leading general trading/marketing houses (sogo shosha). The company was ranked as the 25th largest in Fortune Magazine’s Global Fortune 500 list for 2002. http://www.marubeni.co.jp/english/index.html
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