Nov 25 2010
The New Energy Capital Cleantech Infrastructure Fund (NECCIF) declares the financial closing of a $23.5 million capital outlay in one of the integrated fuel cell project coming up in the USA.
The project to be located over the sites possessed by the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the San Diego city will include three fuel cells to generate a total of 4.5 MW power. The fuel cells will operate utilizing the renewable biomass power received from the San Diego Wastewater Treatment Facility.
The fuel cell plants will incorporate molten carbonate fuel cells manufactured by Fuel Cell Energy, a Danbury, Connecticut located company. The biofuel supply required to run the plant will be provided by an associate company of BioFuels Energy (BFE) from the unused methane gas generated at the City of San Diego wastewater treatment plant. The energy generated from the fuel cells will be traded with the City of San Diego and UCSD.
The fuel cells are expected to generate around 35 million kWh of clean energy per year and offset carbon dioxide emissions to the level of 25 million pounds and help UCSD and the City of San Diego to save over $2 million towards their spending on electricity in a period of 10 years. BFE, located in Encinitas, California, generates renewable biofuel from different biogas product sources. The proposed project will generate around 15 full time jobs during initial building period of time and 50 direct job positions at the plant.