Three FuelCell Energy Inc. fuel cell power plants will soon be part of a system that will turn wastewater sludge and kitchen grease from local restaurants into 900 kilowatts of electricity for residents of Rialto, Calif.
Chevron Energy Solutions, a Chevron subsidiary, will use the Danbury-based FuelCell Energy”™s power plant as part of an innovative system that will decrease Rialto”™s energy costs by approximately $800,000 a year. The system will generate electricity without combustion using methane, a biogas produced naturally on-site from the organic materials contained in wastewater.
The new system will use thousands of gallons of fats, oils and grease (FOG) washed daily from restaurants and collected by grease-hauling companies that dump the FOG in landfills, where methane is released into the atmosphere. The Chevron Energy Solutions system will include installation of FOG receiving stations, a new automation system and controls, and three 300-kilowatt FuelCell units that will convert methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into hydrogen, which will be used to generate power electrochemically, without combustion.
FuelCell Energy sold the power plant to Rialto, and will maintain it after it is installed.
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