October 22, 2003 14:00:00 (ET)
DANBURY, Conn., Oct 22, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- FuelCell Energy Inc., (FCEL, Trade) today announced the dedication of the world's first fuel cell power plant, its Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power plant, to operate on coalmine methane gas at a ceremony at the AEP Ohio Coal LLC Rose Valley Site in Hopedale, Ohio. The purpose of the project, which is co-funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory, is to demonstrate the feasibility and advantages of methane from coalmines to generate electricity cleanly and efficiently.
Hans Maru, chief technology officer of FuelCell Energy remarked on the potential that this demonstration represents. "This project is very exciting for a number of reasons. First, by using coalmine methane to power our DFC power plants, we're generating electricity cleanly and efficiently from a readily available domestic fuel source. Second, we're helping to eliminate escaping methane, which is a harmful greenhouse gas. Third, we are demonstrating the economics of using coalmine methane as an opportunity fuel to generate electricity in a clean power source such as our DFC power plants."
"This demonstration," said DOE's Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Carl Michael Smith, "supports President Bush's long-range goals for energy, environmental and economic security on terms that deliver new jobs and rising prosperity. It is innovation of a high order. It recovers the methane gas that is a hazard in coal mining and a strong agent of possible climate change and turns it into a useful energy resource. In this way it expands our Nation's inventory of useable energy reserves, supports miner safety and contributes to the President's Clear Skies, Climate and National Energy Policy initiatives. Once proved and deployed on a wide scale this new technology could make marked contributions in each area."
Project Details
This project is demonstrating a 200-kW DFC power plant at the AEP Ohio Coal LLC Rose Valley Site in Hopedale, Ohio. This site is about 60 miles west of Pittsburgh and is operated by Northwest Fuel Development, Inc. The power plant uses approximately 55,000 - 80,000 cubic feet per day of a coalmine methane gas containing 42-47 percent methane. American Electric Power (AEP) is purchasing the electricity generated at the site under a power purchase agreement between Northwest Fuel Development, Inc. and AEP.
Methane from Coalmines an Environmental Concern
Methane from coal seams is vented in the course of mining operations to reduce hazards to mining. Some abandoned mines also emit methane to the atmosphere, which is the case at the Rose Valley Site. In the United States alone, coalmine methane emissions to the atmosphere are estimated in excess of 500 million cubic feet per day. Various methods of recovering and managing coalmine methane have been employed at mines for many years. However, as concern over the impact of greenhouse gas emissions has increased, so have efforts to find ways to recover and use coalmine methane. Because methane traps heat 20 times more effectively than carbon dioxide, U.S. mine methane emissions are equivalent to exhaust from a dozen 500-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plants or taking approximately 17 million cars off the road.
Abundant Fuel Source, Large Potential Market
FuelCell Energy estimates that as of 1999, 75 percent of the world's coalmine methane emissions from active and abandoned coalmines come from the top six countries with coal mining operations. A total of approximately 1,000 megawatts of fuel cell power could be generated using coalmine methane from active and abandoned mines. The United States alone has approximately 300 megawatts of unutilized coalmine methane capacity. At an estimated $1,000/kW, the 1,000 MW worldwide potential for FuelCell Energy's DFC power plants is equivalent to a $1 billion market.
About Direct FuelCells
Direct FuelCells efficiently generate clean electricity at distributed locations near the customer, including hospitals, schools, universities, hotels and other commercial and industrial facilities, as well as in grid support applications for utility customers. In essence, Direct FuelCells are like large, continuously operating batteries that generate electricity as long as fuel, such as natural gas, is supplied. Since the fuel is not burned, there is no pollution commonly associated with the combustion of fossil fuels. Because hydrogen is generated directly within the fuel cell module from readily available fuels such as natural gas and wastewater treatment gas, DFC power plants are ready today and do not require the creation of a hydrogen infrastructure. This high-efficiency technology generates more electric power from less fuel and with less carbon dioxide emissions than traditional methods using combustion. Operating on biomass fuels, such as wastewater treatment digester gas, Direct FuelCells are a renewable technology.
About FuelCellEnergy, Inc.
FuelCell Energy, Inc., based in Danbury, Connecticut, is a world leader in the development and manufacture of highly efficient hydrogen fuel cells for clean electric power generation, currently offering DFC power plant products ranging in size from 250 kilowatts to 2 megawatts for applications up to 50 megawatts.
The Company has developed commercial distribution alliances for its carbonate Direct FuelCell technology with MTU CFC Solutions GmbH, a company of DaimlerChrysler AG, in Europe; Marubeni Corporation in Asia; and Caterpillar, PPL Energy Plus and Chevron Energy Solutions, in the U.S. FuelCell Energy is developing Direct FuelCell technology for stationary power plants with the U.S. Department of Energy through their Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory. More information is available at www.fuelcellenergy.com.
About Northwest Fuel Development, Inc.
Since its founding in 1979, Northwest Fuel Development (NW Fuel) has been working on low quality methane fuel development, with a special emphasis on utilization of waste coalmine methane (CMM). NW Fuel is a technology R&D company emphasizing commercial applications of process developments.
About AEP and AEP Ohio Coal LLC
American Electric Power owns and operates more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and select international markets and is the largest electricity generator in the U.S. AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with almost 5 million customers linked to AEP's 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.
AEP Ohio Coal was originally owned and operated by Y& O Coal and was later purchased by Harrison Mining Corp., a subsidiary of Quaker Coal Co. In Oct. 2001, AEP acquired the facility from Quaker and currently employs 165 people. The continuous mining operation's annual coal production in 2002 was roughly 1.4 million tons.
About US DOE / NETL
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is the implementing arm for the Office of Fossil Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy. NETL maintains four sites in Morgantown, WV; Pittsburgh, PA; Tulsa, OK: and Fairbanks, AK. Areas of technical expertise at NETL include clean coal technologies, fuel cells, natural gas, petroleum, and environmental cleanup technologies.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's plans and expectations regarding the development and commercialization of its fuel cell technology. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could cause such a difference include, without limitation, the risk that commercial field trials of the Company's products will not occur when anticipated, general risks associated with product development, manufacturing, changes in the utility regulatory environment, potential volatility of energy prices, rapid technological change, and competition, as well as other risks set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
SOURCE FuelCell Energy Inc. |
