Fuel Cell Power Plant for Yale University

FuelCell Energy, Inc., has signed an agreement with Yale University to install and service a DFC300A fuel cell power plant that will provide heat and power for the university’s Environmental Sciences Building near the Peabody Museum in New Haven.

Danbury, Connecticut – April 7, 2003 [SolarAccess.com] Electricity from the unit will provide approximately 25 percent of the building’s electricity needs, with the heat being used primarily to maintain tight temperature and humidity controls at the storage facility where rare bones and artifacts are kept and preserved. Start-up is expected to begin in the summer of 2003, and the service agreement will be renewable after the initial five-year period is up. “As the fuel cell capitol of the world, Connecticut continues to be the leader in innovative application of fuel cell technology,” said Arthur Diedrick, Chairman of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. “The Yale installation is the first-of-its-kind use of a high-efficiency fuel cell at an institute of higher learning and will further advance the adaptation of these power plants as a clean source of electricity for Connecticut.” The cost of the project is US$1.25 million, exclusive of the service agreement. The DFC300A unit was purchased by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund last year for use in the state and the Connecticut Siting Council approved the Yale University location in December 2002. The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund invests in enterprises and initiatives that help promote the development, production and use of energy from clean and renewable sources. “Yale is pleased to support both the State of Connecticut and FuelCell Energy in an effort to further our mutual objective of developing cleaner, more efficient energy sources,” says Robert L. Culver, Yale University’s vice president for finance and administration. “The clean and efficient operating characteristics of fuel cell technology fit in well with Yale’s overall energy goals.”