🚀 go-pugleaf

Here is a press release from the Santa Clara Demonstration Project.
I downloaded the press release from the PR On-Line BBS in Maryland
at 410-363-0834. I do not work for the Project.

 World's First Utility-Scale Carbonate Fuel Cell Demonstration
Breaks Ground
 To: National Desk, Science and Energy writers
 Contact: Paul Eichenberger, 408-984-3158, or
          Tom O'Shea, 408-246-0831, or
          Amy Van Horn, 202-296-3471, for the
          Santa Clara Demonstration Project

   SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 7  -- The Santa Clara
Demonstration Project (SCDP), the world's first demonstration of a
utility-scale carbonate fuel cell power plant, broke ground today.
   The groundbreaking, which took place on the plant site here, is
a landmark step in a broad initiative to commercialize this
environmentally benign and efficient means of generating
electricity by the turn of the century.  Construction of the SCDP
plant is expected to be completed by mid-1995, followed by a two-
year demonstration period.
   "The Santa Clara Demonstration Project represents an important
step in the commercialization of this exciting new electricity
generating option," said Rep. Norman Y. Mineta, (D-Calif.).
Mineta, a featured speaker at the event held in his district, was
optimistic about the prospects for fuel cell technology.  "This
project could show the true value of fuel cells as a standard power
source for the future," Mineta said.  "With their low emissions,
fuel cells are environmentally sound and could play a vital role in
any plan to reduce green house gas emissions."
   Fuel cells, often described as continuously operating batteries
or an electrochemical engine, produce electricity without
combustion or rotating machinery.  Unlike batteries, however, fuel
cells are not recharged by consuming electricity.  Instead, they
operate non-stop, using natural gas, coal gas or other fuel sources
and oxygen to produce electricity.

   Fuel cells have minimal environmental impact and can achieve
efficiencies much greater than conventional electricity-producing
alternatives.  Because of their cleanliness and size, they also can
be installed quickly and in urban locations close to energy users.
Successful commercialization of the devices could lead to
fundamental changes in the way the utility industry provides
electricity to consumers.
   "This demonstration of fuel cells at the utility scale is a
significant milestone in making this technology commercial, which
could open up many options for the utility industry in meeting
electricity generation needs," said Marvin I. Singer, deputy
assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy, another
featured speaker at the groundbreaking.  "This is an exemplary
project, showing government and industry partnering to produce
clean, efficient energy for the American people."
   Other speakers at the groundbreaking included Santa Clara Mayor
Everett Souza; Larry Hobart, executive director of the American
Public Power Association; Dr. Bernard S. Baker, president and CEO
of Energy Research Corp. (ERC); and Paul Eichenberger, assistant
director of the electric utility for the city of Santa Clara and
chairman of the SCDP Steering Committee.  The groundbreaking
ceremony was attended by more than 130 guests, including
representatives from major utilities across the United States;
members of the research, academic, and environmental communities;
and officials from both the federal and California state
governments.
   The SCDP demonstration is a critical milestone in a
commercialization program being pursued by Energy Research Corp.
(ERC) of Danbury, Conn., the developer of the fuel cell technology,
and the Fuel Cell Commercialization Group (FCCG), a consortium of
prospective utility buyers from North America.
   Participants in the SCDP are the city of Santa Clara, Calif.,
the host and site for the demonstration; the Electric Power
Research Institute; Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; the
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (represented by the
United Power Association, Elk River, Minn.); Sacramento Municipal
Utility District; Southern California Edison Co.; and the
the city of Vernon, Calif.  Additional funding is being provided
by Fuel Cell Engineering Corp. (FCE), a subsidiary of ERC and
prime contractor for the project, and the California Energy
Commission.  The power-producing portions of the power plant
(the fuel cell stacks) are being provided through funding by
the U.S. Department of Energy.  Fluor Daniel Inc., Irvine, Calif.,
is the engineering and construction subcontractor to FCE for
the project.

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