The Energy Technology Laboratory (ETL) is the center of research and development for Northern Power Systems. "ETL symbolizes our commitment to innovation in our industry," comments Clint "Jito" Coleman, Northern Power Systems' president. "The mission of the laboratory is to keep Northern a technology leader in its target markets, to advance the state of the art for industrial power and distributed-energy systems, and to develop technologies and solutions in concert with Proton and other Distributed Energy Systems entities and partners." A little recent history here: Northern Power Systems, based in Vermont and successful for three decades, was acquired in 2003 by Proton Energy Systems of Wallingford, CT. Cooperating under a new corporate parent, Distributed Energy Systems Corporation, the companies plan to offer an array of practical energy technologies, including Proton's advanced hydrogen-generation products and Northern's renewable and fossil fuel power systems.

ETL has been involved in the development and commercialization of an innovative power architecture for distributed-generation applications. One such power network is the MicroGrid. Designed to help ensure electric service during blackouts, provide greater power reliability, and deliver enhanced power quality, Northern's MicroGrid power network operates in parallel with the bulk utility generation and distribution system. Northern's MicroGrid power network is reliable, robust, and efficient. It combines multiple devices (including microturbines, reciprocating engines, wind turbines, and photovoltaic panels) within an integrated, small-scale power-generation, storage, and distribution network to provide continuous power. That power can go to one or more users. "The MicroGrid is a natural evolution of Northern's ongoing work in onsite power systems," comments Coleman. "Our systems have incorporated combined heat and power [CHP] and deliver critical support for individual customers. MicroGrid power networks are a practical strategy to ensure continuous power. They give security and protection, regardless of utility outages and other anomalies in the electrical grid."

Mad River Park in Waitsfield, VT, is one site for a custom-designed, utility-connected MicroGrid network. This industry-leading energy generation, storage, and distribution power network in the park will operate in parallel with the bulk utility generation and distribution system and will provide dramatically increased power quality and reliability to residences and businesses (which include Northern's recently constructed headquarters facility). Support for this pioneering project has come from the Vermont state energy office, the United States Department of Energy (DOE), and the Washington Electric Cooperative. "MicroGrid will serve as a fully operational demonstration of the benefits and capability of clustering tightly integrated, small-scale generation, storage, and distribution technologies," observes Jonathan Lynch, Northern's director of technology development. "Included will be engines, microturbines, wind turbines, and photovoltaic (PV) panels. The system will feature multiple generation and storage devices and will be connected to five commercial and industrial facilities. There will also be up to 12 residences in the MicroGrid power network service area for Mad River Park."

Not all US communities are like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles; most communities are not anywhere near them in population. There are thousands of smaller places where power needs are essential, places that maps and media call remote or isolated (as if only strange natives lived there!), but they are as much a home and a workplace as bigger sites are. Northern's ETL has another interesting, ongoing development that could be a significant asset. The NorthWind 100 wind turbine was awarded R&D Magazine's R&D 100 Award for the most innovative technology in 2000. It is a 100-kW direct-drive turbine, developed with support from NASA, the National Science Foundation, and DOE. Its goal is to serve the needs of remote and isolated distribution grids in extreme environments. Underwriters Laboratories is now completing certification of the NorthWind 100 to internationally recognized International Electrotechnical Commission standards.

Building Blocks, Boston, and Beverages?

One of the largest publicly held office-building owners and managers in the US is Equity Office. Its portfolio includes 767 buildings, with 127.4 million ft.² in 21 states and the District of Columbia. With 1.5 million ft.² of commercial space that comprises an entire city block, One Market Street is one of the foremost office buildings in the financial district of San Francisco, CA. At that address, a CHP system maximizes energy efficiency and use of space. "Northern's onsite power system at One Market is the largest of its kind to interconnect to a downtown utility network grid," notes Charles "Chach" Curtis, vice president of the onsite power business unit at Northern Power Systems. "The cogeneration system delivers 30% of the complex's electricity and 85% of its steam needs for its space heating system. In recovering waste heat, the system's overall fuel efficiency rises to about 60%. That contrasts with typical efficiencies of 30% from power produced by utilities." Those higher fuel efficiencies also qualify the One Market system for an incentive rebate from the Self-Generation Incentive Program of the California Public Utilities Commission.

In South Boston, MA, you can visit the EpiCenter facility, a site for Artists for Humanity (AFH), a nonprofit organization that celebrates and nurtures the talents of young people by giving them hands-on experiences in creativity, business, teamwork, and self-governance. The center's custom designed, 48-kW turnkey power system from Northern gathers energy from the sun by using an array of PV panels mounted on the building's roof. AFH calls it the largest roof-mounted PV panel array in Boston. "The solar-energy system is part of an overall 'green-building' design that AFH hopes will combine to create energy autonomy," explains Curtis. "In addition to the solar-energy system, the design includes energy-saving elements, such as exterior walks that are superlatively insulated to generate heat retention, 'low-E' glass high-thermal-performance panes and south-facing windows, maximum natural light infiltration, occupancy lighting sensors in common areas, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, and a recovery system to redistribute the excess heat from manufacturing spaces, grouped computer terminals, and other sources." At this facility, AFH will have to spend less money on maintenance, heat, and electricity and more on the programs the organization offers, thanks to the Northern system that supplies critical load support and prime power.

Pokka Beverage is a division of Coca-Cola North America. After more than 20 (costly) shutdowns for its bottling processes due to intermittent utility faults, the company commissioned a Northern system to solve the problem and ensure uninterrupted operation. It is a 1-MW onsite distributed-generation project comprising a generator fired by natural gas and a sophisticated heat recovery process. The project benefited from state incentives equal to 30% of the total capital cost. The system offers a fuel efficiency of more than 75%, saves more than $600,000 annually in energy costs, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 45%. Advanced controls at the Pokka facility protect the plant by transferring critical operations seamlessly from the local utility to the onsite Northern generation system. "By isolating the plant's critical operations from the grid, the system ensures critical load support," advises Curtis. "Designed to maintain bottling-line operations through a utility outage, the system has kept Pokka's critical processes up and running through no less than six utility 'events' since its commissioning in 2003."

From Landfill and Wastewater to Environmentally Friendly Power

A nearby landfill supplies the methane gas burned to fuel a Northern turnkey installation for SC Johnson: a 3.2-MW gas turbine CHP system. This installation in Racine, WI (known as the Waxdale Plant), demonstrates how a reliable onsite power system can work for a large-scale industrial site, at the same time ensuring compliance with local utility interconnection standards and emissions regulations. The system burns methane gas from the landfill to generate a capacity of 3.2 MW of electricity - one half of the facility's current baseload power demand - and recover the waste heat from the exhaust to make 17,000 lb./hr. (17 million Btu) of plant steam. The system at Waxdale combines a 3,200-kW turbine with a Heat Recovery Steam Generator, system controls, power electronics, conditioning equipment, storage, and environmental systems and housing. "The expected yield is $2.66 million in annual energy savings, based on electricity-demand reduction and natural-gas savings," affirms Curtis. "Of local significance is the fact that, in addition to generating cost-savings and a favorable return on investment, the Northern system will help reduce the plant's greenhouse gas emissions by 50% and support environmental and climate management. The project supports the commitment of both companies to a better environment. Northern plays a part in the World Wildlife Fund Climate Change Program, and SC Johnson is a partner in the USEPA Climate Leaders Initiative, which challenges corporations to make voluntary reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions. By 2005, the environmental improvements resulting from the Waxdale plant's cogeneration system will contribute to overall absolute emissions reductions of 8% from 2000 levels for SC Johnson's worldwide operations."

An interesting point about the SC Johnson installation is that electricity is not especially expensive in Wisconsin. The project, however, delivers a quick payback because the cost of the methane gas from the nearby landfill is so low and the waste heat recovered from the turbine (used to make steam) is so valuable. What is perceived as the "free steam" from the cogeneration system offsets the needs for the Waxdale plant to run its boilers; that saves both fuel and operating costs.

In Essex Junction, VT, it is the wastewater processing that produces the methane gas to generate electricity and heat for the Essex Junction Wastewater Treatment facility. The cogeneration system (engineered, built, and installed by Northern Power Systems) will produce more than 400,000 kWh/yr. of electrical output, about 41% of the facility's annual demand. "At the same time, the system reduces the plant's carbon dioxide emissions by more than 500,000 pounds," comments Curtis. "That's the equivalent of eliminating 42 cars from the road per annum." This system has a new controls method, developed especially for the application by Northern and the first of its kind in a biogas cogeneration application. The method enables the facility to blend natural gas with the methane from the wastewater in order to boost the kilowatt output of the system during periods of peak demand. This unique method of peak shaving increases the estimated annual energy cost-savings to approximately $30,000.

Combined Expertise Accelerates Development

It's not surprising that some users (who might be skeptical about anything related to power supply) need more than just pictures and charts to believe that distributed-generation/onsite systems will meet their needs. A commitment to a complete system is a serious, long-term investment that must be justified to boards of directors, trustees, and often the paying public. Northern Power will produce a feasibility study to ease their anxiety. You have seen the word turnkey several times in this report. Northern Power does not make microturbines or generators. The company plans and provides complete systems, as appropriate to a particular application. For example, the Johnson & Johnson/McNeil facilities in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico received a greenhouse gas/carbon dioxide reduction analysis. During the process, Northern reviewed onsite generation, fuel cells, and wind-, solar-, and ground-source heat-pump installation as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. At another facility (an 80-MW wind farm for Cargill Dow), the wind feasibility study suggests how a third-party analysis of energy resources, technology options, financing, and ownership can provide an excellent investment decision-making tool. It struck the author, when talking to Northern Power staff, that their broad knowledge of all of the technologies available (rather than any insistence on a single type or brand) had to be beneficial to potential customers.

As mentioned in the introduction, Northern Power is now with Proton Energy Systems. Proton manufactures proton exchange membrane (PEM) industrial hydrogen generators (electrolyzers) and fuel cell-related products. These PEM-based, electrochemical products are used in devices that generate hydrogen and in regenerative fuel cell systems that function as power-generating and energy-storage devices. Proton's HOGEN hydrogen generators produce hydrogen from electricity and water. There are no harmful byproducts, and the system is efficient. Proton's UNIGEN regenerative fuel cell systems combine its hydrogen-generation technology with a fuel cell power generator to provide uniquely pollution-free energy storage. Proton is committed to PEM applications in commercial markets and to making low-cost hydrogen energy accessible throughout the world. "Proton's products are used in industrial hydrogen-gas markets and renewable and backup power systems, with longer-term application to vehicles and portable fuel cell applications," says Walter W. "Chip" Schroeder, chief executive officer of Proton. "Proton's vision is to be the world leader in harnessing PEM technology to make low-cost products for today's commercial markets and tomorrow's sustainable energy needs."

Joint Efforts Already Underway

Under the corporate aegis of Distributed Energy Systems Corporation, you can expect to see a practical combination of energy technologies, including Northern's renewable and fossil fuel power systems and Proton's advanced hydrogen-generation products. There is growing interest in a "hydrogen economy," and the combination realized by the recent acquisition seems to promise a business entity that can capitalize swiftly and safely on the vital connection between renewable power and hydrogen as a fuel for energy sustainability. Together, Proton and Northern bring us closer to a reality of making fuel from renewable power because Northern has its three-decade history harnessing renewable resources to make reliable electricity and Proton's proprietary technology will transform electricity into hydrogen. When that electricity used to make hydrogen derives from renewable sources, the road ahead is brightened by energy that does not pollute or deplete itself, energy that can be sustained.

According to Schroeder, Distributed Energy Systems is well positioned to address the rapidly emerging, decentralized energy landscape. "As our world moves inevitably toward resource depletion and restrictions on harmful environmental emissions, the case for hydrogen becomes ever more compelling," notes Schroeder. "As fuel for fuel cells, hydrogen has gained the attention of politicians, policymakers, environmentalists, and commercial entities around the globe. The complementary strengths of Proton and Northern Power enable us to tap into this in an interesting, unique way."

The two Distributed Energy Systems operating units are already combining forces to do so. In China Lake, CA, at the Naval Air Weapons Station, the US Navy needed a system to produce highly reliable power from solar energy and eliminate the replacement and maintenance costs associated with traditional batteries. "What the Navy received from Northern and Proton (working together as Distributed Energy Systems) was a grid-independent power plant that generates electricity day and night in a closed-loop system from renewable, nonpolluting resources," explains Schroeder. The system uses a 1-kW Proton UNIGEN regenerative/fuel cell system. It eliminates the need for energy-storing batteries and brings pure power to the off-the-grid targets, radar systems, radios, repeaters, and all of the other components scattered within the 1.1 million ac. of remote desert land known as the China Lake station test range. Among subsystems integral to the UNIGEN system are an electrolyzer, a PEM fuel cell, hydrogen storage tanks, and a PV array.

The PV panels collect energy from the sun and turn it directly into voltage, so the system cuts dramatically the cost of maintaining cumbersome battery storage banks. It also reduces environmental hazards posed by the battery's toxic chemicals and highly corrosive acids. The PV panels at China Lake can generate 7,000 to 8,000 W of electricity during the day while energy stored through the process can provide power without sunshine for three to four days.

The electrolyzer uses the electric power generated by the system's solar panels and converts water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The hydrogen gas is stored in a tank for use by the fuel cell should the PV panels not be generating enough power. A key module in this system, the electrolyzer incorporates Proton's (patent pending) renewable interface; that can produce hydrogen from water through the use of electricity generated directly by the solar array. The hydrogen can be used later by the fuel cell to produce clean, noncombustive power. Not only does this process create electricity, but it also creates such other byproducts as heat and water. There is a lack of water in the arid climate of the desert where the weapons station is located, so the byproduct water from the fuel cell is recycled back to a 55-gal. tank, to be used again by the electrolyzer. Any excess oxygen is simply emitted to the air. Through combined research and development, plus teamwork in product commercialization and other business activities, Northern and Proton anticipate expanding success in this and similar projects.

PAUL HULL writes on construction and environmental topics for several international magazines.

DE - May/June 2004