Distributed power generation by utility companies is a scheme that should be used in the future to satisfy energy demands from the public. Distributed energy systems include small to mid size power plants that are strategically placed within an electric grid to satisfy high electrical power usage by customers. This type of strategy assists with electrical load management by the utility company. These small power plants would be placed near high congestion - end use areas or in areas where more temporary power is needed at peak hours (ie the first several hours after people return home from work), since the production of peak electrical power usually costs the utility company the most money. In the last decade, the most common type of distributed power generation systems used by utility companies are Reciprocating Engines as they were responsible for producing over 80% of distributed power within electric grid systems. Reciprocating engines can run off a variety of different fuels but have the tendency to emit much greenhouse gases and particulates due to combustion. However, smaller sized power plants that run off of natural gas such as fuel cells are very clean and efficient. It is estimated by the Department of Energy that within the next 20 years 90 percent of most power plants made will be natural gas plants such as fuel cells. Many of these power plants most likely may be used for distributed power generation. According to the DOE, there are two types of fuel cells that are suited to run off natural gas, those being molten carbonate or solid oxide fuel cells. Both types of fuel cells operate at high temperatures and reform natural gas in order to use hydrogen. Even the other gases generated such as carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide can be utilized to generate energy by fuel cell technology, so it eliminated the need to be worried about greenhouse gas emissions.
One company in the past decade has emerged as a leader in natural gas based fuel cell power plants as has been mentioned in past articles. Fuel Cell Energy has developed several types of small to midsize fuel cell power plants they term as DirectFuel Cells. They specialize in manufacturing fuel cells that run off a variety of waste biogas sources as well as natural gas. These fuel cells are suited for many types of markets which include institutions like hospitals, prisons and universities as well as many manufacturing industries like food and beverages. They also specialize in manufacturing DirectFuel Cells for distributed electrical generation for utility companies. One such example in my home state of Arizona includes a mid sized 250 kW molten carbonate fuel cell located at Arizona State University's Polytechnic Campus in Mesa. It is utilized by one of the power companies and can help to power around 100 homes. Many of these fuel cells are the molten carbonate type. They have an advantage over solid oxide in that they operate at much lower temperatures around 650 C versus 1000 C for solid oxide, although solid oxide fuel cells are being developed that may be able to operate at lower temperatures than usual. The DOE NETL department has implemented a program called SECA, that has the goal of developing solid oxide fuel cells for applications such as distributed power generation. Some companies also are working on developing a hybrid turbine operated solid oxide fuel cell for such applications. Overall, mid size natural gas fuel cells are a very good option for distributed energy generation and also have the advantage of not emitting greenhouse gases or other pollutants but their overall cost is still a concern. However, we should be seeing more of them in operational use as they become more competitive in price and other aspects to other power generation equipment such as reciprocating engines or microturbines.
Photos taken from Picasa Web album
KEYWORDS: Redundant Electrical Power Generation, Regenerative Braking and Coasting, Waste Heat to Electrical Generation from Computer Chips, Vehicle Wind Turbine Generator, Vehicle Roof top Photovoltaic Panels
0 comments:
Post a Comment