NEW GENERATION CHP FUEL CELL PROVIDES ENERGY TO HIGHRISE MANHATTAN OFFICE TOWER

摘要

Beacon Capital Partners (Beacon Capital), a privately held commercial real estate firm, installed a fuel cell system at its 1211 Avenue of the Americas multi-tenant high-rise office tower in mid-town Manhattan. This combined heat and power system has been in operation since November 2011, producing 400 kW of electric output used by Fox News to meet a significant portion of its TV studios' needs. The fuel cell also produces 1.7 million Btu/hr of low temperature (160F) hot water for domestic uses including News Corporation's Fitness Center, kitchen/cafeteria, and high temperature (220F) hot water for space heating of the Lobby, TV studios and lower building levels. Natural gas is used as the source of hydrogen for fuel cell operation. The fuel cell is a PureCell Model 400 system, manufactured by UTC Power, and now owned and maintained by ClearEdge Power under a 10 year Service Agreement. The Service Agreement provides a full warranty on all repair and maintenance costs and an up-time guarantee throughout the 10 year term. The project was financed using an off-balance sheet structure with Federal Energy Tax Credits monetized through 3rd party ownership, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provided a $2 million Construction Grant. No project cost was incurred by Beacon Capital Partners in development of the project. Over the past 20 months of commercial operation, the fuel cell has operated at an Operating Factor (actual kwh output since initial operation divided by maximum design kwh output over same time period) of over 90%. Response time for outages by ClearEdge Power has been rapid, typically within 12-24 hours depending on the time of day of the outage and day of the week. The fuel cell is located within the building, 3 levels below ground level, adjacent to electrical, hot water and natural gas interconnections. Noise levels from the fuel cell are very low and consistent with design specifications with no impact to tenants or building operations. The fuel cell has consistently operated at the design output of 400 kW, +/-1 kW, and energy conversion efficiency from natural gas to electricity and hot water has been within design specifications. Information on the fuel cell's performance is available to the public on the NYSERDA website. No significant operational issues have occurred to date and the fuel cell system has blended in well with the building's operations.