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Title: CLIMATE CHANGE FUEL CELL PROGRAM UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AIR STATION CAPE COD BOURNE, MASSACHUSETTS

Abstract

This report covers the first year of operation of a fuel cell power plant, installed by PPL Spectrum, Inc. (PPL) under contract with the United States Coast Guard (USCG), Research and Development Center (RDC). The fuel cell was installed at Air Station Cape Cod in Bourne, MA. The project had the support of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), the Department of Energy (DOE), and Keyspan Energy. PPL selected FuelCell Energy, Inc. (FCE) and its fuel cell model DFC{reg_sign}300 for the contract. Grant contributions were finalized and a contract between PPL and the USCG for the manufacture, installation, and first year's maintenance of the fuel cell was executed on September 24, 2001. As the prime contractor, PPL was responsible for all facets of the project. All the work was completed by PPL through various subcontracts, including the primary subcontract with FCE for the manufacture, delivery, and installation of the fuel cell. The manufacturing and design phases proceeded in a relatively timely manner for the first half of the project. However, during latter stages of manufacture and fuel cell testing, a variety of issues were encountered that ultimately resulted in several delivery delays, and a number of contract modifications. Final installation andmore » field testing was completed in April and May 2003. Final acceptance of the fuel cell was completed on May 16, 2003. The fuel cell has operated successfully for more than one year. The unit achieved an availability rate of 96%, which exceeded expectations. The capacity factor was limited because the unit was set at 155 kW (versus a nameplate of 250 kW) due to the interconnection with the electric utility. There were 18 shutdowns during the first year and most were brief. The ability of this plant to operate in the island mode improved availability by 3 to 4%. Events that would normally be shutdowns were simply island mode events. The mean time between failure was calculated at 239 hours, or slightly less than 10 days. The fuel cell did run continuously for more than one month on three occasions during the first year. Overall efficiency, including the thermal recovery, was found to be over 60%. Operation for the fuel cell during the first year produced net savings for the Coast Guard of over $18,000.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
PPL Spectrum, Inc. (US)
Sponsoring Org.:
(US)
OSTI Identifier:
836828
DOE Contract Number:  
FG26-01NT41265
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 30 Jun 2004
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION; AVAILABILITY; CAPACITY; CLIMATES; DESIGN; EFFICIENCY; FUEL CELL POWER PLANTS; FUEL CELLS; MAINTENANCE; MANUFACTURING; MODIFICATIONS; SHUTDOWN; TESTING; THERMAL RECOVERY

Citation Formats

Steckel, Jr, John K. CLIMATE CHANGE FUEL CELL PROGRAM UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AIR STATION CAPE COD BOURNE, MASSACHUSETTS. United States: N. p., 2004. Web. doi:10.2172/836828.
Steckel, Jr, John K. CLIMATE CHANGE FUEL CELL PROGRAM UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AIR STATION CAPE COD BOURNE, MASSACHUSETTS. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/836828
Steckel, Jr, John K. 2004. "CLIMATE CHANGE FUEL CELL PROGRAM UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AIR STATION CAPE COD BOURNE, MASSACHUSETTS". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/836828. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/836828.
@article{osti_836828,
title = {CLIMATE CHANGE FUEL CELL PROGRAM UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AIR STATION CAPE COD BOURNE, MASSACHUSETTS},
author = {Steckel, Jr, John K},
abstractNote = {This report covers the first year of operation of a fuel cell power plant, installed by PPL Spectrum, Inc. (PPL) under contract with the United States Coast Guard (USCG), Research and Development Center (RDC). The fuel cell was installed at Air Station Cape Cod in Bourne, MA. The project had the support of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), the Department of Energy (DOE), and Keyspan Energy. PPL selected FuelCell Energy, Inc. (FCE) and its fuel cell model DFC{reg_sign}300 for the contract. Grant contributions were finalized and a contract between PPL and the USCG for the manufacture, installation, and first year's maintenance of the fuel cell was executed on September 24, 2001. As the prime contractor, PPL was responsible for all facets of the project. All the work was completed by PPL through various subcontracts, including the primary subcontract with FCE for the manufacture, delivery, and installation of the fuel cell. The manufacturing and design phases proceeded in a relatively timely manner for the first half of the project. However, during latter stages of manufacture and fuel cell testing, a variety of issues were encountered that ultimately resulted in several delivery delays, and a number of contract modifications. Final installation and field testing was completed in April and May 2003. Final acceptance of the fuel cell was completed on May 16, 2003. The fuel cell has operated successfully for more than one year. The unit achieved an availability rate of 96%, which exceeded expectations. The capacity factor was limited because the unit was set at 155 kW (versus a nameplate of 250 kW) due to the interconnection with the electric utility. There were 18 shutdowns during the first year and most were brief. The ability of this plant to operate in the island mode improved availability by 3 to 4%. Events that would normally be shutdowns were simply island mode events. The mean time between failure was calculated at 239 hours, or slightly less than 10 days. The fuel cell did run continuously for more than one month on three occasions during the first year. Overall efficiency, including the thermal recovery, was found to be over 60%. Operation for the fuel cell during the first year produced net savings for the Coast Guard of over $18,000.},
doi = {10.2172/836828},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/836828}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2004},
month = {Wed Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2004}
}