Caterpillar, Fuel Cell Energy and Westerville, Ohio, Use Ultra-Low Emissions Fuel Cell To Feed Power to Local Distribution System
Peoria, Ill. - November 17, 2004 (News Release)
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM: FCEL) and the city of Westerville, Ohio, have reached an important milestone, bringing on-line one of the first utility-scale fuel cell power plants in North America that will feed power to consumers from a substation.
"This project demonstrates how public-private partnerships can work to
bring new and emerging technologies to consumers today," said Herbert T.
Nock, FuelCell Energy's senior vice president of marketing and sales. "The
state of Ohio and the city of Westerville are showing how Direct FuelCell (DFC)
power plants which create hydrogen internally, can be used to bring clean,
reliable power to the people of Ohio without waiting for the development of a
hydrogen supply infrastructure."
This innovative project is a first for the state of Ohio and it was funded in
part through Governor Bob Taft's Third Frontier Fuel Cell Initiative, a $103
million dollar program that aims to position Ohio as a national leader in the
growing fuel cell industry.
"Ohio has been on the leading edge of fuel cell technology for several
years, and with today's installation in Westerville, the Buckeye State has
jumped ahead and established its leadership as an industry pioneer," said
Bob Taft, governor of Ohio. "Today signifies that our Third Frontier
investments in the fuel cell industry are succeeding and directly benefiting
Ohio citizens. I am pleased to take part in this historic event."
The 250-kilowatt (kW) DFC power plant creates the hydrogen it needs from a
readily available fuel, natural gas. The unit is manufactured by FuelCell Energy
and distributed by Caterpillar through its dealer, Ohio Cat. The fuel cell power
plant is located at Westerville's electric substation #2, and when fully
operational it will produce enough energy to power approximately 180 homes in
Westerville.
"Westerville's fuel cell produces predominantly water and heat as
by-products, while dramatically minimizing regulated emissions," said
Andrew Boatright, Westerville's electric utility manager. "This first of
its kind project in Ohio demonstrates that fuel cell technology holds the
potential to transform the entire energy industry."
Westerville is one of 91 municipal electric communities in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan that comprise AMP-Ohio, a wholesale
power supplier and services supplier for municipalities. AMP-Ohio helped the
city of Westerville secure the state grant that made the project possible, while
also providing technical support for the installation.
"We are excited to be a partner in this project, which shows
Westerville's leadership in current technology, and in the larger picture will
put our country one step closer to becoming less reliant on foreign countries
for our energy consumption," said Marc S. Gerken, PE. AMP-Ohio president.
Fuel cells are similar to large, continuously running batteries, using
natural gas or other fuel to generate electricity through electrochemical
reactions. Direct FuelCells efficiently generate electricity at distributed
customer locations, including hospitals, schools, universities, hotels and other
commercial and industrial facilities, as well as grid-support applications for
utility customers. Direct FuelCells convert readily available fuels, such as
natural gas or waste gas, to electrical power with great efficiency.
In April 2002, Caterpillar and FuelCell Energy signed an alliance agreement
to distribute and develop ultra-low emission fuel cell power generation products
for industrial and commercial use. The agreement calls for the companies to
jointly develop Caterpillar-branded power plants in the 250kW to 3MW size range,
incorporating FuelCell Energy's fuel cell module.
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For more than 75 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been building the world's
infrastructure and, in partnership with its worldwide dealer network, is driving
positive and sustainable change on every continent. With 2003 sales and revenues
of $22.76 billion, Caterpillar is a technology leader and the world's leading
manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas
engines and industrial gas turbines. More information is available at http://www.cat.com.
FuelCell Energy, Inc., based in Danbury, Connecticut, is a world leader in the
development and manufacture of high temperature fuel cells for electric power
generation. FuelCell Energy developed its patented Direct FuelCell technology
for stationary power plants with the U.S. Department of Energy through its
Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory. The
sub-megawatt fuel cell power plant is a collaborative effort using Direct
FuelCell; technology of FuelCell Energy and the HotModule; balance of plant
design of MTU CFC Solutions, GmbH, a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler. FuelCell
Energy is also developing next generation high temperature fuel cell products,
such as a diesel fueled marine Ship Service Fuel Cell, a combined-cycle DFC/Turbine;
power plant and solid oxide fuel cells for applications up to 100 kilowatts.
More information is available at www.fuelcellenergy.com