Pasadena City College – Pasadena, California

Project Owners / Partners

Pasadena Water & Power
Pasadena City College

DER Technology

Two C60 Capstone microturbines.
Electrical output: 120kWe
Heat Recovery: 700,000 Btu/hr
Low emissions.

Overview

The Pasadena Water & Power company suggested that one possible way for the college to reduce energy costs would be to generate some of their own power. Utilizing combined heat and power was also suggested, primarily because of the 750,000-gallon swimming pool that is maintained at 81°F. The solution was to install two Capstone 60 kW microturbines with heat recovery. The amount of heat recovered from the microturbines enough to heat the pool and displace the original heaters. The result was they are using about the same amount of gas to run the microturbines as they were to heat the pool, but they are creating an extra 120 kW of power. The resulting electricity cost savings to the college is about $100,000 per year.

The project was a joint project with the college and Pasadena Water & Power, which provided co-funding for the project. The net result to the college was a 4-month payback.

Contacts

Richard van Pelt, Pasadena City College (www.pasadena.edu)
Capstone, 1-818-407-3770