Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy visited FuelCell Energy this week to get a tour of the 15 MW Dominion Bridgeport fuel cell park. The company showcased the affordability of fuel cell solutions. According to FuelCell Energy, distributed fuel cell power generation enhances the resiliency of the electric grid with low carbon power production and low emissions.
“I’m excited to have EPA Administrator McCarthy in Bridgeport and that our efforts to become one of the greenest cities in America are being recognized nationally,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “We are home to the Bridgeport fuel cell park, which has fueled green job growth and powers up to 15,000 homes at any given time with virtually pollutant free energy.”
During her public remarks at the Bridgeport fuel cell park, Administrator McCarthy commented that now is the time to embrace a clean energy future and that innovative solutions such as the Bridgeport fuel cell park reflect the pathway for American energy security and ingenuity.
John Smatlak, VP of Power Generation Technical Services for Dominion said the company is pleased to have added 15 MW of renewable fuel cell energy in Connecticut to their existing 2,100 MW of power from their Millstone Power Station along with their Somers Solar Facility that produces 5 MW. “These stations are generating clean, reliable electricity for Connecticut and it was a pleasure to share that with Administrator McCarthy.”
The project is located on a remediated brownfield site in an industrial area of Bridgeport, Connecticut, using only about 1 1/2 acres of land to provide 15 megawatts of continuous renewable power.
“Our fuel cell power plants are at the confluence of energy, environmental and economic policy,” added Chip Bottone, president and CEO of FuelCell Energy, Inc. “Megawatt scale fuel cell plants are part of the portfolio to rebuild our energy infrastructure. Low carbon power generation that is virtually absent of pollutants enables siting the power plants in urban areas and the continuous distributed power generation enhances resiliency of the electric grid.”