To improve efficiency and reduce emissions, Cornell University replaced coal-fired boilers in 2009 with two 15 MWe Titan 130 gas turbine generator sets for its combined heat and power plant. Previously, the campus in Ithaca, New York, purchased 80 percent of its electricity from the local utility. The duel-fueled turbines now fulfill 80 percent … [Read more...]
Microgrid Developers: April 30 Deadline for DOE Loan Guarantees
Take note, microgrid developers and others working with efficient fossil fuel generation. The next deadline is April 30 to apply for loan guarantees under an $8 billion federal program. The Department of Energy issued the solicitation late last year for what it calls advanced fossil fuel projects. The DOE is opening the funding to a range of … [Read more...]
Massachusetts to Issue Energy Efficiency RFPs and Seek Microgrid and Grid Resiliency
Massachusetts utilities plan to issue more than 20 energy efficiency requests for proposals this year through a collaboration known as Mass Save. The utilities will seek vendors and suppliers for lighting programs, large commercial & industrial retrofits, whole building assessments, home energy services, rebate strategies, school educational … [Read more...]
Cogeneration Goes Global
Sometimes what’s old becomes new again and cogeneration, which is more than 130 years old, is gathering momentum across the world. Combined heat and power (CHP), also known as cogeneration, is the simultaneous production of electricity and heat from a single fuel source, such as natural gas, biomass, biogas, coal, waste heat, or oil,” reports the … [Read more...]
Fuel Cells: Yes, Maybe, at Last?
Before plug-in hybrids, and virtual power plants, and bikes that charge laptops, there was the fuel cell. The fuel cell was supposed to become the next cool, big thing – many times – over the last 120 years (It was invented in the late 1800s.) Remember how NASA generated excitement about the technology when it started developing hydrogen fuel … [Read more...]