Caterpillar, FuelCell Energy and Westerville, Ohio Use Ultra-Low Emissions Fuel Cell To Feed Power to Local Distribution System
November 15 2004 - 10:08AM
PR Newswire (US)
Caterpillar, FuelCell Energy and Westerville, Ohio Use Ultra-Low
Emissions Fuel Cell To Feed Power to Local Distribution System
PEORIA, Ill., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Caterpillar Inc.
(NYSE: CAT), FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCEL) and the city of
Westerville, Ohio have reached an important milestone, bringing
on-line one of the first utility-scale fuel cell power plants in
North America that will feed power to consumers from a substation.
"As the world leader in distributed power generation, we see a
growing need for all of Caterpillar's broad range of power
generation products," said Rick Rathe, marketing manager for
Caterpillar's Power Systems Marketing Division. "This project
represents an important step in the use of stationary fuel cells to
provide power to local electrical distribution systems." "This
project demonstrates how public-private partnerships can work to
bring new and emerging technologies to consumers today," said
Herbert T. Nock, FuelCell Energy's senior vice president of
marketing and sales." "The state of Ohio and the city of
Westerville are showing how Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power
plants which create hydrogen internally, can be used to bring
clean, reliable power to the people of Ohio without waiting for the
development of a hydrogen supply infrastructure." This innovative
project is a first for the state of Ohio and it was funded in part
through Governor Bob Taft's Third Frontier Fuel Cell Initiative, a
$103 million dollar program that aims to position Ohio as a
national leader in the growing fuel cell industry. "Ohio has been
on the leading edge of fuel cell technology for several years, and
with today's installation in Westerville, the Buckeye State has
jumped ahead and established its leadership as an industry
pioneer," said Bob Taft, governor of Ohio. "Today signifies that
our Third Frontier investments in the fuel cell industry are
succeeding and directly benefiting Ohio citizens. I am pleased to
take part in this historic event. "The 250-kilowatt (kW) DFC power
plant creates the hydrogen it needs from a readily available fuel,
natural gas. The unit is manufactured by FuelCell Energy and
distributed by Caterpillar through its dealer Ohio Cat. The fuel
cell power plant is located at Westerville's electric substation
#2, and when fully operational it will produce enough energy to
power approximately 180 homes in Westerville. "Westerville's fuel
cell produces predominantly water and heat as by- products, while
dramatically minimizing regulated emissions," said Andrew
Boatright, Westerville's electric utility manager. "This first of
its kind project in Ohio demonstrates that fuel cell technology
holds the potential to transform the entire energy industry."
Westerville is one of 91 municipal electric communities in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan that comprise AMP-Ohio, a
wholesale power supplier and services supplier for municipalities.
AMP-Ohio helped the city of Westerville secure the state grant that
made the project possible, while also providing technical support
for the installation. "We are excited to be a partner in this
project, which shows Westerville's leadership in current
technology, and in the larger picture will put our country one step
closer to becoming less reliant on foreign countries for our energy
consumption," said Marc S. Gerken, PE. AMP-Ohio president. Fuel
cells are similar to large, continuously running batteries, using
natural gas or other fuel to generate electricity through
electrochemical reactions. Direct FuelCells efficiently generate
electricity at distributed customer locations, including hospitals,
schools, universities, hotels and other commercial and industrial
facilities, as well as grid-support applications for utility
customers. Direct FuelCells convert readily available fuels, such
as natural gas or waste gas, to electrical power with great
efficiency. In April 2002, Caterpillar and FuelCell Energy signed
an alliance agreement to distribute and develop ultra-low emission
fuel cell power generation products for industrial and commercial
use. The agreement calls for the companies to jointly develop
Caterpillar-branded power plants in the 250kW to 3MW size range,
incorporating FuelCell Energy's fuel cell module. About Caterpillar
For more than 75 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been building the
world's infrastructure and, in partnership with its worldwide
dealer network, is driving positive and sustainable change on every
continent. With 2003 sales and revenues of $22.76 billion,
Caterpillar is a technologyleader and the world's leading
manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and
natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. More information
is available at http://www.cat.com/. About FuelCell Energy FuelCell
Energy, Inc., based in Danbury, Connecticut, is a world leader in
the development and manufacture of high temperature fuel cells for
electric power generation. FuelCell Energy developed its patented
Direct FuelCell technology for stationary power plants with the
U.S. Department of Energy through its Office of Fossil Energy's
National Energy Technology Laboratory. The sub-megawatt fuel cell
power plant is a collaborative effort using Direct FuelCell(R)
technology of FuelCell Energy and the HotModule(R) balance of plant
design of MTU CFC Solutions, GmbH, a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler.
FuelCell Energy is also developing next generation high temperature
fuel cell products, such as a diesel fueled marine Ship Service
Fuel Cell, a combined- cycle DFC/Turbine(R) power plant and solid
oxide fuel cells for applications up to 100 kilowatts. More
information is available at http://www.fuelcellenergy.com/. 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. DATASOURCE: Caterpillar Inc. CONTACT: Jim Dugan, Corporate
Public Affairs of Caterpillar, +1-309-675-5813, ; or Steven P.
Eschbach, CFA, Dir., Investor Relations & Communications of
FuelCell Energy, +1-203-825-6000, ; or Andrew Boatright of the City
of Westerville, +1-614-901-6703; or Kent Carson of AMP-Ohio,
+1-614-337-6222 Web site: http://www.cat.com/
http://www.fuelcellenergy.com/
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