News

PPL Completes Coast Guard Fuel Cell Installation

May 18, 2003 by Jeff Shepard

PPL Corp. (Allentown, PA) announced that a subsidiary has completed the installation of a fuel cell energy system at one of the largest US Coast Guard air stations on the East Coast. PPL's distributed generation and energy services subsidiary said it recently completed the installation, commissioning and testing of a 250kW fuel cell system at the US Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod in Bourne, MA. The system provides electricity to the air station, including its hangars and administrative buildings, and supplies hot water for use in the air station's barracks.

FuelCell Energy Inc. (Danbury, CT) manufactured the air station's fuel cell power plant, which uses natural gas that will be supplied by KeySpan Energy Delivery (New England) for fuel. PPL has an equity investment in FuelCell Energy and is a distributor of its fuel cells in the US. The Coast Guard contracted with PPL for the on-site fuel cell system because it needed a power source that personnel could count on, particularly when fierce Atlantic storms knock out power on the traditional electricity grid.