FuelCell Energy Selected for Carbon Capture Project by DOE
The manufacturer and operator of fuel cell power plants, FuelCell Energy, Inc.
FCEL revealed that it has been selected for a cost-share carbon capture project by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) Office of Fossil Energy. The project, with an outlay of $23.7 million, will be sponsored by the National Energy Technology Laboratory.
The project requires FuelCell Energy to install a two-megawatt Direct FuelCell (“DFC”) system, which will be a modification of the company’s commercial DFC3000 fuel cell power plant. The carbon capture fuel cell system will be installed beside an existing coal-fired power plant to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the exhaust of a coal plant apart from generating power.
Installation of the fuel cell system is the first of two phases. The second phase of the project requires the installation of 11 additional fuel cell power plants to capture roughly 700 tons of CO2 per day, while simultaneously generating about 648,000 kwh of ultra-clean power on a daily basis.
FuelCell Energy will finalize the contract with the DOE by the end of this month. Currently, the company is in discussions with several utility and independent power producers that generate power through coal-fired plants. It expects to finish site selection for the project by fall 2015.
