FULE CELL PLANT

This 1.4-megawatt power plant, dedicated on October 14, 2011, will be used to heat some buildings and two swimming pools on the university’s campus, with a projected energy savings of $160,000 a year. Students studying engineering, business and other subjects, will get to use the facility as a learning lab. The project provides a real-life example of sustainability.  It is an ultra-clean, low emission power plant.

Fuel cells are clean, quiet sources of energy. They convert hydrogen from a fuel – natural gas in the case of the one in use in Hayward – and oxygen from the air into electricity. These stationary facilities operate 24 hours a day. Since the natural gas isn’t combusted, fuel cells produce almost no harmful nitrogen oxides or particulates. There is a touch screen with

information on the plant at the site for those who wish to know more.PG&E owns and operates the fuel-cell power plant on the CSU campus. FuelCell Energy, of Danbury, Conn., manufactured the fuel cell. The project was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and helped demonstrate and advance the technology.

When the project was over, it was dismantled.