Tulare, CA, will install a 2.8 MW combined heat and power (CHP, or cogeneration) plant under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with FuelCell Energy.
The installation will be at the Tulare Waste Water Treatment Facility. The plan is for FuelCell to install, operate and maintain the plant and sell all the power it produces to Tulare. The facility is expected to be operational by next summer.
The story says that annual savings of $500,000 are expected. FuelCell’s Direct FuelCell (DFC) technology uses electrochemical instead of combustion technology to turn fuel into power. This, the company says, virtually eliminates emission of air pollutants.
Earlier this month, NRG Energy said it is adding a combined heat and power (CHP) element to the northside district energy system it operates in Pittsburgh, according to the Pennsylvania Business Daily. A spokesperson said that the idea is to create “what is essentially a microgrid” in the existing system.