FuelCell Energy to Supply Power to Frozen Food Plant

FuelCell Energy has announced the sale of a 300 kWe DFC300 fuel cell power plant and five year service contract to LOGANEnergy, a dedicated fuel cell energy services company, who will install the fuel cell power plant at the frozen food processing facility of Carla's Pasta in South Windsor, CT.

As a frozen food processor that is dependent on 24/7 reliable power, the distributed generation aspect of fuel cells was appealing to the owners of Carla's Pasta. Electrical power is generated at the point of use which provides increased reliability, power quality and energy security.

The fuel cell power plant is expected to provide 60 percent of the energy needs of the recently expanded Carla's Pasta facility. The fuel cell power plant will generate ultra-clean base load electricity and will be configured to recover the byproduct heat from the fuel cell energy conversion process. The byproduct heat will be used for facility heating and heating hot water for the production process and general facility needs. This combined heat and power (CHP) configuration can achieve up to 80% efficiency, which is more than twice as efficient as power delivered via the transmission grid. The power plant is expected to be operational by mid 2011.

Sam Logan, Jr., CEO LOGANEnergy, commented, "We are providing a fully functional turn-key fuel cell power plant for our customer, Carla's Pasta. Partnering with FuelCell Energy allows us to offer our customers economical power generation that is highly efficient, environmentally friendly and reliable."

The purchase of this fuel cell power plant was partially funded by a $750,000 grant from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF). The CCEF, created in 2000 by the Connecticut Legislature, promotes, develops, and invests in clean energy sources for the benefit of Connecticut ratepayers.

Source: Fuel Cell Today