The Palmdale Fuel Cell Project: FiveYear Review

1
The Palmdale Fuel Cell Project Five-Year Review

• SCAP Energy Management Committee Meeting
• Mark McDannel
• Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts
• July 28, 2009

2
Presentation Overview

• Facility Descriptions and Design Parameters
• Results
• Lessons Learned Conclusions

3
Antelope Valley Green Energy Program

• Parallel renewable combined heat and power
  projects using digester gas
• Similar size units at similar size plants
• 250 kW Fuel Cell Energy molten carbonate fuel
  cell at Palmdale
• 250 kW Ingersoll-Rand microturbine at Lancaster

4
Palmdale Water Reclamation Plant
STARTED NOVEMBER 1952 CAPACITY 15 MGD
CURRENT FLOW 9.2 MGD
5
Project Design Data
6
Palmdale Fuel Cell Project

• Fuel Cell Energy molten carbonate fuel cell
• Capital cost 2.4 million
• 50 of cost recovered from SGIP

7
Fuel Cell Project Team

• Quinn Power Systems Associates
• Prime contractor
• Operation and maintenance under contract to LACSD
• Fuel Cell Energy-
• Fuel cell supplier
• Subcontracted to Quinn for fuel cell OM
• SCS Energy-
• Design and installation
• Gas treatment skid om
• Facility ownership retained by LACSD

8
Fuel Cell Fuel Skid
9
Load Profiles at Palmdale
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Results

• Plant Performance
• Economics
• Siloxane Removal
• Lessons Learned Conclusions

11
Fuel Cell Availability and Capacity
12
Fuel Cell Availability and Capacity

• Availability has increased during the program
• Capacity has decreased despite improvements in
  availability
• Capacity factor well below 90 target

13
Breakdown of Downtime
14
Palmdale Availability

• Fuel cell balance of plant equipment
• Routine repairs on water treatment system
• Multiple significant fuel skid issues
• Four electrode stack replacements
• Carbon filter media replacement

15
Stack Replacements

• Four stack replacements
• 3975 hrs - Replaced with new stack design
• 2696 hrs Stack degradation
• 5386 hrs - Sulfur poisoning excessive
  startups
• 9889 hrs - Sulfur poisoning

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Causes of Capacity Reduction at Palmdale Fuel Cell

• Frequent long time periods at reduced loads due
  to fuel cell issues
• Variations in digester gas pressure due to issues
  with the fuel skid
• Lower digester gas flows and higher methane
  content due to sewer cleaning
• Defective stack installed in 2008

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Causes of Capacity Reduction at Palmdale Fuel
Cell, ctd

• Long start up times after outages
• Parasitic Loads
• Internal fuel cell loads of 18-20 kW not counted
  against net, but cost plant when fuel cell is in
  hot standby
• Fuel skid, 25 kW (design value, not metered)
• Three sulfur poisoning events have resulted in
  reduced power output for several months

18
Net Electrical Generation per Quarter
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Other Issues at Palmdale

• Integration into plant digester gas system
  including flare and boilers was complex
• Remote monitoring and operation help minimize
  down time
• Installation of natural gas line was necessary
  for backup and controlled shutdown

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Capital Cost
21
Facility Economics (design, assuming 90 capacity
factor)
22
Cost of Power Production
23
Net Savings per Year

• 2005 66,551
• 2006 69,452
• 2007 46,543
• 2008 2,119

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Cumulative Net Savings
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Siloxane Removal

• Carbon absorption
• Also removes Cl, S to protect fuel cell
• Requires periodic testing for breakthrough
• Short term high siloxane levels could cause
  undetected breakthrough

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Criteria Pollutant Emissions

• NOX 0.05 ppm _at_ 15 O2
• 0.0017 lb/MWh
• CO 1.2 ppm _at_ 15 O2
• 0.025 lb/MWh
• TGNMO 2.07 ppm
• 0.016 lb/MWh

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Sulfur Compounds
Note-detection limit not sensitive enough to
fully protect fuel cell
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Trace Organic Compounds
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Recent Operating Status

• Stack replaced in Sep 2008.
• A leak in the new stack forced reduction in
  output to 40 kW in Dec 2008
• Operated at nearly 100 availability at reduced
  load
• Fuel cell was shutdown June 11 upon discovery of
  sulfur breakthrough
• Unit will not be restarted

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Lessons Learned by LACSD

• Ambient temperature considerations
• Chiller was undersized for high summer
  temperatures
• Lower digester gas production during winter
  months
• Carbon media must be monitored and/or replaced
  periodically
• Site involvement
• Digester gas system balancing

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Lessons Learned by Fuel Cell Energy

• Natural gas must be used as a backup fuel
• A load bank should be installed to mitigate grid
  disturbances
• Ensure proper maintenance of the fuel skid

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Contracting Issues Impacting the Facility

• These were demonstration projects as such,
  providers would not provide availability
  guarantees
• The current OM contracts have no performance
  incentive or penalty down time costs the owner
  but does not cost the contractor
• Fast response not always justified by plant
  economics
• Other contracting options
• Incentives and penalties for response time and
  availability
• Power purchase agreement, unit owned by provider
  or third party
• These options are generally currently available

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Conclusions

• The Palmdale fuel cell did not meet performance
  goals
• The Palmdale fuel cell met its goal to
  demonstrate a high efficiency, low emission
  technology on digester gas
• As an early adopter, Districts allowed
  manufacturers to address and resolve design and
  operating issues

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Questions?

• Contact information
• mmcdannel_at_lacsd.org
• [phone] x2442