FuelCell Energy announced that it has sold a one megawatt (MW) Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power plant to provide electric power and high-quality heat for a Sharp Corp. production facility in Japan that manufactures advanced flat-screen TVs. The DFC power plant will provide Sharp's Kameyama manufacturing facility with a portion of its base load electricity needs and supply heat byproduct for air conditioning by means of absorption chilling.
"This is our first international megawatt-class installation, showing growing acceptance in Japan of our larger ultra-clean DFC power plants," said R. Daniel Brdar, President and CEO of FuelCell Energy.
Installation of the DFC power plant is expected to be complete by second calendar quarter of 2006. The unit will operate on liquefied natural gas -- supplied via a newly installed 17-kilometer pipeline from Toho Gas.
For further details see FuelCell Energy press release, January 24, 2005
FuelCell Energy based in Danbury, CT is the leading producer of molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC), which were the subject of a previous post. MCFC's are produced in sizes above 250 kW and obtain extremely high efficiencies, as high as 85%, when the waste heat is captured and used as is the case in this application.
This is an example how high effiency fuel cells can provide distributed power to help reduce consumption of fossil fuels. Not only is electricity produced at a higher efficiency than in any conventional power plant and the waste heat recovered and used, but the not insignificant distribution losses are eliminated
Technorati tags: fuel cells, energy, technology
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