The following excerpt is
from the Federal Energy Project Center's sheet "Project Facts: Developing the Second-Generation
Fuel Cell — The M-C Power Project":
"M-C Power Corporation has tested a commercial scale power generator
in San Diego, California, using molten carbonate fuel cells, the next generation of
fuel cell technology. ... The San Diego test unit, installed at Marine Corps Air Station
Miramar, consisted of a fully integrated system including a newly designed reformer and
a stack with 250 cells each with an 11-square-foot active area. The unit reached 210
kilowatts capacity and cogenerated up to 350 pounds per hour of steam used for
heating buildings on the air station. Total output was 158 megawatt-hours of electricity
and 346,000 pounds of steam over 2350 hours of operation. In the current program, the
Miramar facility is being modified to conduct performance verification testing of
advanced stack designs and other improvements prior to building prototype units for
commercial demonstrations at several sites by early 2001.
"DOE has supported M-C Power's development and demonstration of MCFCs
since 1990 under three cost shared contracts. The first, a $60.5 million contract with
$18.1 million from M-C Power, culminated in a 250 cell stack test in Brea, California,
in 1995. The second project, which included the demonstration at San Diego in 1997,
had a value of $30.8 million including $14.2 million cost sharing. The current contract
, which began in 1994, is budgeted at $104 million with $33 million from M-C Power.
"The M-C Power demonstration in San Diego provided valuable experience
in installing and operating a molten carbonate fuel cell in a commercial cogeneration
application. Fuel cell modules comparable in size to those installed at the demonstration
site will be linked together for larger power plant applications. ... The program goals
are to commercialize MCFCs by 2002. Commercialization of the technology supports DOE
goals for emissions reduction and energy security."
If you have information about this fuel cell image, or MCFC technology
in general, please fill out the Collecting History questionnaire accessible through the
link at the top of the previous page.
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