![]() “This will act as a direct source of power should the local distribution system or bulk power system fail.” Broad-based benefitsĪs a result, CMEEC will be able to make productive, day-to-day use of the fuel cell to enhance its ability to serve customer loads system-wide. CMEEC and the Navy sized the installed capacity (function of critical load levels) as the first large anchor to the planned (in development) SUBASE microgrid,” Rankin said. “The PPA is not directly tied to the SUBASE’s needs, and contains no terms or conditions relative to their electric needs. The SUBASE fuel-cell park will enable CMEEC to avoid infrastructure costs, the projected net benefits of which will accrue to CMEEC and ultimately its owners and customers, according to Rankin. FuelCell Energy originally announced the deal in May 2017. CMEEC is able to monetize the ITC in part by incorporating some of the tax credit’s value into, and thus lowering the cost of energy, in the PPA with FuelCell Energy, Rankin explained. CMEEC is to serve as the project manager for the final design, construction and commissioning of the microgrid,” Rankin said.Ī tax-exempt, public power agency, CMEEC is not able to capitalize directly on Connecticut’s fuel-cell investment tax credit (ITC), one of the few instituted across the US. “SUBASE already has a microgrid design to achieve the intelligent microgrid throughout the base, which will be constructed in the near future. Ultimately, these will be integrated into a microgrid capable of actively managing supply and demand throughout SUBASE both in parallel to the utility grid and in autonomous, island mode, Rankin explained. The fuel cell will be supplemented by a 5-MW natural gas combustion turbine and additional emergency generators. Part and parcel of that, some $12 million in energy conservation projects have been carried out at the base in the past five years. The Navy has recently invested more than $50 million to improve electrical and steam generation and distribution systems at SUBASE. In lieu of land lease payments for making use of the fuel-cell park site, CMEEC will make an in-kind payment to the Navy in support of SUBASE’s microgrid, which is moving through its planning stages. SUBASE will remain connected to Groton Utilities’ power grid and the Navy will continue to pay for electricity as per the current tariff, CMEEC CEO Drew Rankin told Microgrid Knowledge. SUBASE and the Navy are not directly contracting for the electricity the fuel cell park produces. The fuel cell park will enhance energy services for SUBASE, Groton Utilities and CMEEC’s utility customers in line with Connecticut state goals, as well as those of the Navy’s Enhanced Use Leasing program and its broader-based drive to reduce energy consumption and reliance on foreign sources of oil by increasing use of alternative energy. The project operates under the Navy’s Enhanced Use Leasing program, an effort to leverage the value of underutilized and under performing assets via the private sector. ![]() ![]() Enhancing energy reliability and energy resilience CMEEC’s customer’s include Groton Utilities, which in turn serves SUBASE. ![]() ![]() The project’s completion will mark another milestone in SUBASE’s plans to deploy a microgrid capable of reducing energy consumption, costs and environmental impacts while at the same time enhancing energy reliability and resiliency at the base, home to the US fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and submariners.ĭanbury, Conn.-based FuelCell Energy will build, own and operate the fuel cell park, delivering electricity to wholesale supplier CMEEC under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The project partners recently broke ground for a 7.4 MW fuel cell park on unused Navy land at SUBASE. Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (CMEEC), the US Navy and FuelCell Energy are setting the keystone of a microgrid that will enhance energy services at Naval Submarine Base New London (SUBASE) in Groton, Connecticut. ![]()
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