Santa Barbara County Jail - Santa Barbara, California

Project Owners / Partners

Southern California Gas Company (SoCal Gas)

DER Technology

200-kW ONSI Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell

Overview

As part of a demonstration program, Southern California Gas Company installed a 250-kW ONSI phosphoric acid fuel cell system at the Santa Barbara County Jail in October 1994. The installed unit is one of the early versions of the ONSI PC25 power plant. It is fueled by natural gas and operates at a temperature above 1400°F. The power plant supplies electricity and heat to the jail.

At full power, the ONSI fuel cell system generates more heat than is required by the Santa Barbara County Jail. Therefore, the power plant operates at 25% percent of capacity, or 50 kW, which serves a portion of the facility's electric load. As of September 1999, the power plant had accumulated 27,000 hours of run time, equating to an availability of 62%. The fuel cell system requires a maintenance check every 3,000 hours and a full maintenance, including a three- to four-day shutdown, every 12,000 hours. Since the installation of the power plant at the Santa Barbara County Jail, ONSI (UTC Fuel Cells) has released new and improved versions of the PC25 power plant.

Contacts

SoCal Gas: (800) GAS-2000