Fuel Cell Provides Premium Power to Internet ...
Fuel Cell Provides Premium Power to Internet Gateway for 52 Schools
Dubbed an 'Electronic Marvel' After 22,000+ Operating Hours
SYRACUSE, N.Y., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- A unique fuel cell system has proven
its
power for the computer center for the Onendaga-Cortland-Madison Board of
Cooperative Educational Services (OCM BOCES).
The upstate New York school system announced today that all computer outages
associated with normal grid fluctuations have been eliminated because of
a fuel cell
system at its computer center.
"The power glitch is history at OCM BOCES," said Michael J. Fay, Director
of
Facilities & Operations for the school system. "Before we installed
the fuel cell, we
faced severe power-related computer shutdowns each year. The fuel cell
system has
eliminated the problem and I believe it has saved us operating expenses
as well."
The fuel cell system, a model PC25(TM) commercial power plant, was developed
by
International Fuel Cells, Inc., and manufactured by its sister company,
ONSI Corp.
Both are subsidiaries of United Technologies Corp. The BOCES system, managed
by
Fay, was installed and is maintained by Niagara Mohawk Energy, Syracuse,
NY, an
unregulated affiliate of Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. (NYSE: NMK), a public
utility
corporation serving 1.5 million electric and more than 500,000 natural
gas customers
across upstate New York. IFC and ONSI have produced more than 200 PC25
power
plant systems that are installed in 84 cities throughout the United States
as well as
in 11 countries in Europe, Asia and North America.
OCM BOCES, which serves more than 100,000 students at 52 locations in upstate
New York, installed a PC25 system at its Regional Information Center in
Syracuse in
January 1997. The center serves as the Internet gateway for the public
schools plus
provides administrative support, data and payroll processing.
Today, the fuel cell system has operated for more than 22,000 hours and
has
eliminated "brown-outs," weather-related power failures and other power
interruptions.
"Every time we had a power interruption, or even a power imbalance of just
a
millisecond, our computer system shut down. It then took an hour or two
to restore
data, rebuild files and get back on line," Fay said. "This computer downtime
was an
expensive waste of productivity, both for our staff and for thousands of
students who
suddenly found themselves without Internet access."
"Elimination of computer downtime means more learning and productivity
in the
classroom," Fay added. "The fuel cell has done it for us, and hopefully
will save us
money in the future."
A fuel cell is similar to a battery. It uses an electrochemical process
to directly
convert chemical energy found in hydrogen into electricity and hot water.
Each PC25
system generates 200 kilowatts of electricity, enough to supply electricity
for nearly
150 homes, and more than 700,000 Btu per hour of usable heat. The thermal
energy
from the OCM BOCES fuel cell is used to heat the 29,000 square-foot building.
Because the fuel cell does not burn its fuel, it eliminates air emissions
normally
associated with acid rain and smog, and dramatically reduces those associated
with
global warming. The OCM BOCES system extracts the hydrogen from natural
gas.
IFC fuel cells also run on propane or even waste methane from sewage treatment
plants.
Compared with electricity generated from the average combustion-based processes
in the United States, an IFC fuel cell system will save more than 40,000
pounds of air
pollution and 2 million pounds of potential "greenhouse" gases during each
year of
operation.
"The OCM BOCES system is particularly important to us because it has
demonstrated the extraordinary reliability that results from installation
of a fuel cell
using the utility grid as backup," said William T. Miller, president of
International Fuel
Cells. "Computer centers need assured, uninterrupted, steady power. The
OCM
BOCES system shows that fuel cell systems can be a logical, cost effective
solution."
The PC25 system contains the fuel cell itself, the fuel processing equipment,
devices
needed to convert the direct current from the fuel cell into the alternating
current
normally used in homes, businesses and schools, and sophisticated switches
to
allow seamless transition from fuel cell to grid.
"The federal government has a large number of computer installations with
critical
power needs," said Michael Binder, a researcher for the U.S. Army Research
and
Development Center and project manager for the federal Climate Change Project.
"The OCM BOCES experience will assist us as we upgrade the energy systems
at
these facilities."
The U.S. Department of Defense Climate Change Project provided $200,000
for the
OCM BOCES project.
IFC and its manufacturing arm, ONSI, both of South Windsor, Conn., are
the world
leaders in fuel cell production. PC25 systems now generate primary or
supplementary power for data centers, hospitals, hotels, universities,
military
installations and manufacturers. More than 200 have been delivered worldwide.
IFC
also is developing fuel cells for automobiles and it supplies the fuel
cells used on the
Space Shuttle.
ONSI and IFC can be found on the World Wide Web at
http://www.internationalfuelcells.com. Both ONSI and IFC are subsidiaries
of United
Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX). SOURCE International Fuel Cell
-0- 01/20/2000
/CONTACT: Michael J. London of Michael J. London & Associates, 203-261-1549,
for
International Fuel Cells/
(UTX) CO: International Fuel Cell; United Technologies Corporation ST:
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Copyright 2000 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
01/20/2000 12:04
PR