Just one example of many possible markets for fuel cells:
Thursday January 20, 11:23 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: International Fuel Cell
Fuel Cell Provides Premium Power to Internet Gateway for 52 Schools
Dubbed an 'Electronic Marvel' After 22,000+ Operating Hours
SYRACUSE, N.Y., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- A unique fuel cell system has proven its power for the computer center for the
Onendaga-Cortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services (OCM BOCES).
The upstate New York school system announced today that all computer outages associated with normal grid fluctuations have
been eliminated because of a fuel cell system at its computer center.
''The power glitch is history at OCM BOCES,'' said Michael J. Fay, Director of Facilities & Operations for the school system.
''Before we installed the fuel cell, we faced severe power-related computer shutdowns each year. The fuel cell system has
eliminated the problem and I believe it has saved us operating expenses as well.''
The fuel cell system, a model PC25(TM) commercial power plant, was developed by International Fuel Cells, Inc., and
manufactured by its sister company, ONSI Corp. Both are subsidiaries of United Technologies Corp. The BOCES system,
managed by Fay, was installed and is maintained by Niagara Mohawk Energy, Syracuse, NY, an unregulated affiliate of
Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. (NYSE: NMK - news), a public utility corporation serving 1.5 million electric and more than
500,000 natural gas customers across upstate New York. IFC and ONSI have produced more than 200 PC25 power plant
systems that are installed in 84 cities throughout the United States as well as in 11 countries in Europe, Asia and North
America.
OCM BOCES, which serves more than 100,000 students at 52 locations in upstate New York, installed a PC25 system at its
Regional Information Center in Syracuse in January 1997. The center serves as the Internet gateway for the public schools plus
provides administrative support, data and payroll processing.
Today, the fuel cell system has operated for more than 22,000 hours and has eliminated ''brown-outs,'' weather-related power
failures and other power interruptions.
''Every time we had a power interruption, or even a power imbalance of just a millisecond, our computer system shut down. It
then took an hour or two to restore data, rebuild files and get back on line,'' Fay said. ''This computer downtime was an
expensive waste of productivity, both for our staff and for thousands of students who suddenly found themselves without
Internet access.''
''Elimination of computer downtime means more learning and productivity in the classroom,'' Fay added. ''The fuel cell has
done it for us, and hopefully will save us money in the future.''
A fuel cell is similar to a battery. It uses an electrochemical process to directly convert chemical energy found in hydrogen into
electricity and hot water. Each PC25 system generates 200 kilowatts of electricity, enough to supply electricity for nearly 150
homes, and more than 700,000 Btu per hour of usable heat. The thermal energy from the OCM BOCES fuel cell is used to
heat the 29,000 square-foot building.
Because the fuel cell does not burn its fuel, it eliminates air emissions normally associated with acid rain and smog, and
dramatically reduces those associated with global warming. The OCM BOCES system extracts the hydrogen from natural gas.
IFC fuel cells also run on propane or even waste methane from sewage treatment plants.
Compared with electricity generated from the average combustion-based processes in the United States, an IFC fuel cell
system will save more than 40,000 pounds of air pollution and 2 million pounds of potential ''greenhouse'' gases during each
year of operation.
''The OCM BOCES system is particularly important to us because it has demonstrated the extraordinary reliability that results
from installation of a fuel cell using the utility grid as backup,'' said William T. Miller, president of International Fuel Cells.
''Computer centers need assured, uninterrupted, steady power. The OCM BOCES system shows that fuel cell systems can be
a logical, cost effective solution.''
The PC25 system contains the fuel cell itself, the fuel processing equipment, devices needed to convert the direct current from
the fuel cell into the alternating current normally used in homes, businesses and schools, and sophisticated switches to allow
seamless transition from fuel cell to grid.
''The federal government has a large number of computer installations with critical power needs,'' said Michael Binder, a
researcher for the U.S. Army Research and Development Center and project manager for the federal Climate Change Project.
''The OCM BOCES experience will assist us as we upgrade the energy systems at these facilities.''
The U.S. Department of Defense Climate Change Project provided $200,000 for the OCM BOCES project.
IFC and its manufacturing arm, ONSI, both of South Windsor, Conn., are the world leaders in fuel cell production. PC25
systems now generate primary or supplementary power for data centers, hospitals, hotels, universities, military installations and
manufacturers. More than 200 have been delivered worldwide. IFC also is developing fuel cells for automobiles and it supplies
the fuel cells used on the Space Shuttle.
ONSI and IFC can be found on the World Wide Web at internationalfuelcells.com. Both ONSI and IFC are
subsidiaries of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX - news). |
