SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn, April 3, 2001 - Six PC25TM fuel cell power plants manufactured by International Fuel Cells, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), will power the world's largest fuel cell installation to be built in Connecticut, IFC announced today.
The PC25 units, which each produce 200 kilowatts of electricity and 900,000 Btus of heat, will provide primary power to the Connecticut Juvenile Training School in Middletown, Conn. The heat produced by the fuel cells will be used for heating and cooling the facility.
"It was only less than a year ago that we dedicated a five-PC25TM installation at a postal facility in Anchorage, Alaska," said IFC President William Miller. "This larger, 1.2 megawatt project will further showcase the PC25TM power plant's capabilities to meet the demand for clean, reliable and efficient energy and IFC's leadership in the fuel cell industry."
IFC is working with Select Energy, the competitive energy marketing and services subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, (NYSE: NU) and NU affiliate subsidiaries Select-HEC Inc. and Northeast Generation Services Company (NGS) on the project for the Connecticut Department of Public Works.
"IFC's position as the leader in the fuel cell industry and the PC25TM power plant's proven track record made IFC the logical choice as a partner for this innovative effort to meet our customer's needs," said Michael Cassella, Select Energy's director of new business and large project development.
The PC25TM fuel cells will be a central part of the entire power installation that also includes generators and the electric grid to ensure an extremely high level of reliability.
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen, or hydrogen-rich fuel, and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water. Fuel cells operate without combustion, making them almost pollution free. While a traditional generating system produces as much as 25 pounds of pollutants to generate 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, the PC25 power plant using natural gas as a fuel, produces less than an ounce.
IFC has manufactured the PC25TM power plant since 1991 and delivered 220 units to customers in 15 countries on four continents. Those power plants have together accumulated some 4 million hours of operation. Use of these power plants has already reduced 600 million pounds of CO2 emissions and 11 million pounds of NOx and SOx compared with typical US combustion-based power plants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized IFC last year with a Climate Protection Award as a result of these accomplishments
International Fuel Cells is the world leader in fuel cell production and development for commercial, transportation, residential and space applications. IFC is the sole supplier of fuel cells for U.S. space missions.