September 2, 2005—Capstone Turbine Corporation announces that two of its 60-kilowatt microturbines currently operating at a military facility in California recently surpassed a milestone of 25,000 hours of near continuous operation.
Capstone CEO John R. Tucker says Capstone does not have permission from the US military to disclose the facility by name or location, but he notes that the Department of Defense is at the forefront of a program for reliable, clean, efficient, on-site energy production with reduced emissions.
The two C60 Capstone MicroTurbines create up to 120 kilowatts (kW) of power 24/7, to reduce demand on the local utility grid. The Capstone system’s near-zero-emission exhaust is ported to a custom, third-party heat exchanger to heat a water loop at the facility, offsetting boiler use.
Capstone vice president Allen McNair says, “Our 80% efficient C-60-ICHP model produces 60 kW of three-phase power and 120kW of thermal energy. According to DOE statistics, conventional boilers and utility power generators burn approximately 50% more fuel to create those same energy outputs.
Capstone is a leading producer of low-emission microturbine systems. For more information on the company, visit its Web site.
