Why FTC is going to Natural Gas/Methane powered Gas Turbines for its generators
I have been asked Why Gas Turbines? When people learned about my work in
creating a gas turbine out of a turbocharger they never really understood why I
was doing that. The reason was that I wanted a way to power my generators with a
renewable gas, which is methane. Methane is available at sewage treatment
plants, chicken farms,and a wide variety of various other facilities that
process waste products. Stick a pipe in a landfill and you can get methane. A
gas turbine will run easily on methane.
Using methane means countries, entities, and just regular people can turn their
waste products into usable electricity. This is a totally renewable
resource that is almost always FREE. Using the gas turbine means I can burn the
methane to run the gas turbine which in turn will power my generators. What’s
more, because the gas turbine spins so fast I can use a much smaller generator
to create the same power as a larger generator.
2019 is going to be an exciting year -
Comment I just received -
jpmastertech 26 minutes ago (edited)
Let me add to this....people in Asia have composting
containers in their backyards creating methane out of food or organic waste! and
they cook or use it as a heat source,and the biowaste liquid of the composting
is used as fertilizer....
Natural Gas has an infinite shelf life.
Advantages of a natural gas powered gas turbine driving an FTC Generator
·
Provides better power reliability and quality, especially for those in areas
where brownouts, surges, etc. are common or utility power is less dependable
·
Provides power to remote applications where traditional transmission and
distribution lines are not an option such as construction sites and offshore
facilities
·
Can be an alternative to diesel generators for on-site power for mission
critical functions (e.g., communications centers)
·
Possesses combined heat and power capabilities
·
Reduces upstream overload of transmission lines
·
Optimizes utilization of existing grid assets—including potential to free up
transmission assets for increased wheeling capacity
·
Improves grid reliability
·
Facilitates faster permitting than transmission line upgrades
·
Can be located on sites with space limitations for the production of power
·
Provides high-quality power for sensitive applications
·
Responds faster to new power demands—as capacity additions can be made more
quickly
·
Facilitates less capital tied up in unproductive assets—as the modular nature of
microturbines means capacity additions and reductions can be made in small
increments, closely matched with demand, instead of constructing central power
plants sized to meet estimated future (rather than current) demand
·
Stand-by power decreases downtime, enabling employees to resume working
·
Produces less noise than reciprocating engines
·
Produces the lowest emission of any noncatalyzed fossil fuel combustion system
·
Has a small footprint, minimizing site disturbance
·
Reduces or defers infrastructure (line and substation) upgrades
·
For recuperated microturbine, possesses higher energy conversion efficiencies
than central generation
·
Enables more effective energy and load management
Applications
Microturbines can be used for stand-by power, power quality and reliability,
peak shaving, and cogeneration applications. In addition, because microturbines
are being developed to utilize a variety of fuels, they are being used for
resource recovery and landfill gas applications. Microturbines are well suited
for small commercial building establishments such as: restaurants,
hotels/motels, small offices, retail stores, and many others.
The variety of energy consumers that are already using microturbines is large
and growing fast. For example:
Landfill gas-fired microturbines installed at the Jamacha Landfill in Spring
Valley, California supply power on-site and back to the grid. More
A McDonald's restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, gets most of its electricity from
a natural-gas-powered microturbine, cutting $1,500 off its total monthly power
bill.
A microturbine generator power system at The Energy Efficient McDonald's (TEEM)
in Bensenville, Illinois, is able to power the entire store, including lighting,
cooking equipment, and HVAC.
A textile mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts, ensures continuous operation by
getting its power from microturbines.
The Chesapeake Building on the University of Maryland campus, College Park,
Maryland has a cooling, heating, and power (CHP) system consisting of
microturbines, chiller, and stack that uses waste heat to cool and heat the
building, significantly increasing system efficiency.