Atrium Hotel - Orange County Airport

Project Owners / Partners

Atrium Hotel
California PUC

DER Technology

Three C60 Capstone microturbines.
Electrical output: 180 kWe
Heat Recovery: 700,000 Btu/hr
Low emissions.

Overview

The Atrium Hotel at Orange County Airport was seeking solutions for energy cost savings. One of the primary targets was the natural gas used for heating water and proving heat to the rooms. This application is an excellent choice for combined heat and power.

The hotel chose three 60-kW Capstone microturbines with integrated heat recovery. The annual savings (both natural gas and electricity) comes to $139,000. The total capital cost of the turbines was $337,763. However, the hotel received a rebate from the PUC totaling $101,329, resulting in a net capital expense of $236,434.

They investigated the use of the microturbines as a backup system as a hedge against future outages. However, this idea was dropped because of the added cost for switching hardware and extra piping for power and water lines.

Contacts

Capstone, 1-818-407-3770
Atrium Hotel at Orange County Airport
Distributed Energy Magazine, www.distributednrg.com