To: Amit Ghate who wrote (342 ) 6/5/2000 12:58:00 PM From: Jim Oravetz Read Replies (1) | Respond to
Commenting on the new product, David Eisenhaure, SatCon President and Chief Executive Officer said, "We believe our new GridLink(TM) Interface solves several problems for fuel cell distributed power generation systems. We did some of our own analysis on the true requirements of a residential power generation system and came up with several key features that we have incorporated into our PowerGate(TM) System. First, we think the GridLink(TM) Interface may eliminate future regulatory issues with tying into the utility grid. Our GridLink(TM) Interface is designed to pull power from the grid like any simple plug-in appliance. Since it does not pump electricity back into the grid, there may be no need for regulatory approval for its use, an issue that has been of concern to fuel cell developers. Second, it allows the fuel cell to operate both grid parallel and grid independent, a combination that increases the effectiveness of a fuel cell power generation system. Thirdly, because we can pull power from the grid during peak loads, we can eliminate many of the daily battery discharge cycles that reduce the life of the battery back-up systems. This allows the batteries to be saved for use only when there is a power outage from the utility grid. This could increase battery life from a year to several years. Also, based on our analysis, we have designed our new PowerGate(TM) Systems to accommodate a wide range of power requirements from small to large loads. The overall system is designed for 50kW with an average operating range of 3kW to 10kW. This allows the fuel cell to accommodate a wide range of installation requirements as well as allowing it to operate during such occurrences as an overloaded circuit breaker without losing power to the entire house. The PowerGate(TM) system can be easily integrated into any manufacturers distributed power generation system and, with SatCon inside, we believe PowerGate(TM) with our new GridLink(TM) Interface can be a key component to the successful market introduction of residential sized fuel cell power generation systems."
