DISTRIBUTED GENERATION

Ballard Power Systems has announced the successful completion of factory testing of a utility-scale distributed generation system using the company’s proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Installation and commissioning of the system for a multi-year demonstration at FirstEnergy Generation Corp’s Eastlake Plant in Ohio is planned for third quarter of this year. FirstEnergy Generation Corp. is a subsidiary of Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. 

Ballard designed the generator to provide clean energy peaking capacity, which is particularly useful during heavy energy demand periods in the summer months, and tested the generator to a power level of one megawatt. Because fuel cells use hydrogen to produce electricity – with heat and water as by-products – this technology is a more environmentally-friendly means of generating power than diesel or coal alternatives. In addition, the Ballard generator is transportable so it can be relocated to other sites on a seasonal basis.

“We are pleased to have passed this key customer milestone,” said Michael Goldstein, Ballard’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Once commissioned, this will be an important ‘first’ for us, meeting a key 2010 Ballard growth milestone and further demonstrating the benefits of fuel cell systems for clean distributed generation applications in the energy sector.”

It is believed that, when the generator is commissioned and operating at the FirstEnergy Generation Corp. facility, it will be the largest PEM fuel cell generator deployed worldwide.

Click here to view a video of the CLEARgen^TM unit and an interview with Michael Goldstein, Ballard's Chief Commercial Officer.

Click here to view the GlobalTV CLEARgen^TM profile.

WKSU Radio Distributed Generation Interview