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Connecticut Clinches Largest Fuel Cell Power Project in North America
Green Technology Featured Articles
May 16, 2013

Connecticut Clinches Largest Fuel Cell Power Project in North America

By Cheryl Kaften
TMCnet Contributor

Dominion Generation and FuelCell Energy Inc. (FCE) have broken ground in Bridgeport, Conn. on what will be the largest fuel cell power project in North America—surpassed worldwide only by another FCE installation planned for Pohanag, South Korea.


The facility, Dominion Bridgeport Fuel Cell, will be built on a remediated brownfield site and will produce 14.9 megawatts (MW) of electricity —enough to power 15,000 homes —using a reactive process that converts natural gas into electricity. ,

Danbury, Conn.-based FuelCell Energy Inc., will build, operate, and maintain the plant under contract to Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion.  FCE is supplying five Direct FuelCell stationary fuel cell power plants and an organic rankine turbine that will capture the waste heat from the fuel cells and convert it into additional electricity.

According to the company, the fuel cells have been designed to deliver base load power to utilities and offer the following economic and environmental advantages:

  • Production of more electricity from less fuel, with a generation efficiency of 47 percent
  • Emission of virtually zero pollutants and low CO2
  • Quiet operation
  • Highly reliable production of base load power to facilitate continuous operation
  • Real-time 24/7 monitoring from FuelCell Energy’s state-of-the-art Global Technical Assistance Center (GTAC
  • The versatility to operate on a variety of fuels for use in a wide range of applications

"This power station will generate clean, reliable, base load electricity for Connecticut," said CEO David A. Christian of Dominion Generation. "Our clean energy portfolio today includes wind, hydro, biomass, and, soon, solar and this facility when it begins operating later this year. Along with electricity, this project supports Connecticut's clean energy goals, while producing significant economic development benefits for the State and the City of Bridgeport."

FuelCell Energy has expanded its Connecticut manufacturing workforce by more than 20 percent– or more than 50 jobs in the past six months—reflecting demand such as this Bridgeport fuel cell park. The project is scheduled to be completed and placed into operation in late 2013.  Dominion will sell the output of the fuel cell power station to the local utility, Connecticut Light & Power, under a 15-year fixed power purchase agreement.

Dominion Bridgeport Fuel Cell is part of Project 150, an initiative to build and operate 150 MW of renewable generating capacity in Connecticut. The program, which is sponsored by the state and supported by the Clean Energy (News - Alert) Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA),  is the nation's first full-scale clean energy finance authority that leverages public and private funds to drive investment and scale up clean energy deployment in Connecticut. This project was supported by the City of Bridgeport, which provides a tax incentive development agreement that will be in place for the life of the project.



Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch were on hand for the ground-breaking ceremony. "Cleaner, cheaper, more reliable energy is a critical part of strengthening our economy," said Malloy. "For years Connecticut residents and businesses have paid energy costs that top anywhere else in the nation—to the detriment of family budgets and commerce. With our new energy strategy and a focus on increasing renewable power options and efficiency measures, we will bring down costs for ratepayers, reduce carbon emissions, and create thousands of clean energy jobs."

"We are proud to be the home for one of the largest fuel cell facilities in North America," said Finch. "This is a great example of public-private partnerships working together to create jobs, expand economic development and make our environment cleaner by producing virtually pollution-free electricity with a low carbon footprint. This fuel cell park is another successful addition to the city's expanding Eco-Industrial Park. Many thanks go to Dominion and FuelCell Energy for their diligence

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,500 megawatts of generation. Dominion owns several renewable energy facilities in the United States, including wind farms in West Virginia and Indiana, a biomass power station in Virginia, with three more under construction; and hydroelectric power stations in Virginia and North Carolina. The company has also announced a 7.7-megawatt solar project in Georgia and the first company-owned rooftop solar installation in Virginia.

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Edited by Jamie Epstein


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