FuelCell Energy, a manufacturer of electric power plants for commercial and industrial customers, said Wednesday it will supply an ultra-clean power plant that will run on a renewable supply of fuel from dairy-processing waste, generating electricity to run a municipal wastewater treatment plant serving California’s San Joaquin Valley region.
The 750 kilowatt power plant, made up of three Direct FuelCell (DFC) units, will be installed in spring 2007 to provide around-the-clock electricity for the wastewater treatment plant, FuelCell said. Surplus heat generated from its operation will be used in generating the gas to be used as fuel, which will boost the facility’s overall energy efficiency.
FuelCell noted that wastewater treatment facilities can be ideal applications for DFC plants based on their ability to operate on anaerobic digester gas, which is classified as a renewable fuel and eligible for government incentive funding at installations around the world. The Tulare project will be eligible to receive about $3.4 million in incentives from California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program currently administered by Pacific Gas & Electric in the San Joaquin Valley.
The Tulare installation is FuelCell’s twelfth wastewater treatment project worldwide.