News Date: September 22, 2005
UTC Fuel Cells Provides Power to Verizon's Long Island Call Center
SOUTH WINDSOR, CT, (September 21, 2005) – The country’s largest fuel cell power plant in commercial operation is being commissioned today in Long Island, N.Y. UTC Power, a division of United Technologies Corp., provided seven PureCell™ 200s to the project, which generates 1.4 megawatts of primary electrical power and 6.3 million BTUs of useable heat for Verizon Communications, Inc.
The project is the largest fuel cell installation connected to the Long Island Power Authority’s massive grid and the latest among UTC Power’s fleet of 17 fuel cells in the area.
The fuel cell power plants are integrated into the energy system of Verizon’s 292,000-sq.-ft. Garden City Central Office call-routing center to provide cooling, heating and power. The call-routing center has 900 employees and serves 35,000 Verizon customers. The units operate as a hybrid system with diesel and dual fuel gas/diesel reciprocating engines that can generate a total of 4.4 megawatts of electrical power.
“This industry-leading fuel cell system that Verizon has installed demonstrates the increasing need for larger, independent power sources,” said Jan van Dokkum, president of UTC Power. “We are honored Verizon chose UTC Power to provide clean, reliable energy to their critical call routing center. The PureCell™ 200’s durability offers significant, long-term benefits to Long Island residents and the environment.”
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen or hydrogen-rich fuel, and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water. Fuel cells operate without combustion, making them virtually pollution free. While a traditional generating system produces as much as 25 pounds of pollutants to generate 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, the PureCell™ 200 power plant produces less than an ounce.
Source: UTC Fuel Cells
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