No fuel cells
The Energy Commission got word tonight that Cheshire will not be getting funding for the fuel cells. Rich Ogurick (Energy Commission, Chairman) wrote in an email:
This was due in large part to the fact that Yankee Gas Services was looking for $4 million to upgrade their distribution system to bring enough gas to the southern part of town to support the fuel cells. Incorporating this expense into the overall project cost made the project uneconomical.Remember those "capacity issues" that Yankee Gas had with sending more natural gas to the south side of town? Well, they've come home to roost.
Needless to say, I'm disappointed about the news. But perhaps even more disappointing is how I feel this highlights the energy issues we face as Nutmeggers. Heck, I only became aware of this "capacity issue" less than a year ago. I wonder if the people who are working so diligently on "electricity deregulation reform," are aware of other energy distribution factors such as this? I hope so.
Tim White
Town Council, Energy Commission liaison
4 comments:
The other side of the story that should be presented is there were 70 fuel cell projects approved by Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. Of the 70 Fuel Cell technologies of Danbury received 69, UTC received 1. Some of the reasoning was the ingenuity, creativity of Fuel Cell Corp and a better product. The gas supply was a factor in the decision but may not have been the main reason. Fuel Cell Energy's projects reduce electrical demand on the grid, many of the UTC projects just put more electricity on the grid, but did not remove any demand off the grid. The pool is a perfect example of this and did not rate high on thetotal list of projects from a priority standpoint.
Too bad it was a good solution.
The fuel cells were a good solution. There were and are better solutions to provide and electricity for the pool. The only reason the Town went after the fuel cell deal was because the fuel cells were for free. What the town would pay for was the use of the exhaust heat to heat the air and water. All of the electricity generated by the fuel cell went into the grid, not one kilowatt went to the pool. One other solution is a microturbine. That equipment uses 50% less gas than a fuel cell and the pool only needed one. Not 5 like the fuel cell deal. It would have cost the town 150k or so, would have provided all of the heat and electricity for the pool. Could have been installed already and saving money and would not have been impacted by the gas supply from Yankee Gas. In an effort to get something for free we got what we paid for...nothing.
So now that the golden solution has turned into nothing what is the wonderful Energy Commission going to suggest? Is it not true the Chairman of the Energy Comission works for a facility where he manages a fuel cell operation, so he pushed the fuel cell deal and now what happens? How come the Energy Commission did not know about the capability of Yankee Gas to supply gas?
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