SoCalGas now powering facilities with fuel cells
Southern California Gas Co. is powering two of its largest facilities in the Los Angeles area with solid oxide fuel cells.
The fuel cells will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutants, and the cost of power. Plus, they will provide reliable electricity independent of the power grid.
The fuel cells, produced by Bloom Energy, could use natural gas, renewable natural gas, or hydrogen. They intake natural gas and oxygen, and through an electrochemical reaction, produce electricity without any combustion. Bloom Energy Servers can operate at 60 percent efficiency and are among the most efficient out there.
“Using Bloom Energy’s fuel cells for our facilities is yet another way that SoCalGas is demonstrating our commitment to be an industry leader supporting a 21st-century energy system,” Maryam Brown, president of SoCalGas. “These onsite generation systems will provide clean, affordable, and resilient energy to key facilities so that we can ensure safe and reliable service to our 22 million customers.”
The fuel cells will reduce carbon emissions by 683 metric tons per year while smog-forming pollutants and particulate matter are reduced by more than 99 percent.
Adoption of distributed power generation solutions, also called distributed energy resources, is a growing trend in the United States. These solutions can combine environmental benefits and the ability to provide uninterrupted power in the event of natural disasters or outages. While SoCalGas uses solar generation at six of its 113 facilities, the company selected the fuel cell solution for its Monterey Park and Pico Rivera facilities for their superior resiliency.
“The SoCalGas pipeline system is integral to many Bloom Energy Servers installed in central and southern California, so we were eager to team up again to bring fuel cells to SoCalGas’ own facilities,” Kris Kim, managing director of strategic development at Bloom Energy, said. “Fuel cells at utility-owned sites are a natural fit as we are both looking to the future of energy and prioritize qualities like fuel flexibility, emissions reductions, efficiency, and reliability.”
The Bloom Energy Servers at each of SoCalGas’ facilities total 950 kilowatts. They replace over 90 percent of the baseload power that would otherwise come from the grid. Bloom Energy has deployed its Servers at 600 sites globally, and more than 85 of those are microgrids.
“I am delighted to see SoCalGas has chosen Pico Rivera to showcase this exciting new technology,” said State Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), said. “It is no longer up for debate; hydrogen will be a part of California’s clean energy future.”
SoCalGas delivers gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California.
