FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of fuel cell power plants for commercial and industrial customers, and Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB; TSX:ENB), a leader in energy transportation and distribution announced that production has begun on the first multi-megawatt hybrid product, generating ultra-clean electricity while recovering energy normally lost during natural gas pipeline operations. The new product, the Direct FuelCell-Energy Recovery Generation(TM) (DFC-ERG(TM)) system, combines a 1.2 megawatt (MW) Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plant with a 1 MW unfired gas expansion turbine. Operating at natural gas pipeline letdown stations, the system generates 2.2 megawatts (MW) of ultra-clean electricity.
To transport natural gas across the continent, natural gas pipelines operate at high pressures and considerable energy must be injected to achieve the pressures required. This high pressure must be reduced when the gas enters lower pressure systems that deliver gas to homes and businesses. Currently, there is no commercial use made of the energy that is lost at that stage. Additionally, when pressure is reduced, the gas cools. To ensure reliable pipeline operations, the cooling must be offset — by burning some gas in boilers, reheating the supply to an acceptable temperature.
With the new DFC-ERG system, high-pressure gas passes through a turbine, capturing some of the energy that was otherwise lost, and turns it into usable electricity. The integrated fuel cell also electrochemically converts some of the gas into low-impact, clean electricity. Finally, heat normally generated by the fuel cell warms the gas to its proper distribution temperature — thus eliminating the boiler (and its emissions). The combined system can achieve electrical efficiencies over 60 percent, with low noise and virtually zero smog emissions.
Availability of the hybrid power plant is expected to be in the third calendar quarter of 2007. Enbridge’s research has identified 40-60 MW of opportunities for the DFC-ERG system in just one of its operating areas. The North American market represents another 200-300 MW, consisting of the half dozen U.S. states currently seeking to add fuel cells’ environmental attributes to their Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS).
Hybrid fuel cell power plants are uniquely positioned to generate electricity with low environmental impact and deliver it to wholesale grids like large wind farms. The state of Connecticut already offers a ready made contract path with its Project 100, and the province of Ontario is soon to release its Clean-Energy Standard Offer Program. Both initiatives are geared toward embedding ultra-clean generation sources to deliver electricity directly to the grid.
The DFC-ERG is particularly well-suited to these programs since the pipeline pressure reducing stations are inherently close to, or embedded within, urban centers — where the demand for clean electricity is the greatest.
The first production unit includes the participation of other vendor partners including Cryostar SAS, a leader in radial in-flow turbines and low-carbon energy solutions, and SatCon Power Systems Canada, Ltd., a leader of multi-megawatt, utility grade, power inverter solutions.
Enbridge Inc., a Canadian company, operates, in Canada and the U.S., the world’s longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system. It owns Canada’s largest natural gas distribution company, and provides distribution services in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State.
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