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UK’S
FIRST FUEL CELL CHP SYSTEM OFFICIALLY OPENED AT WOKING
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BTU (Heating) Ltd installed
and commissioned, in conjunction with UTC Fuel Cell
Engineers, the UK’s first commercial fuel cell,
combined heat and power (CHP) system, at Woking
Borough Council’s Pool in the Park leisure
complex, which was officially launched by Cllr Jim
Armitage, Leader of Woking Council’s Executive.
The official opening coincided
with BTU Heating's nomination as a finalist in the
Building Services Journal ‘Environmental Initiative
Of The Year’ Award.
Commenting on the project, Andrew McCracken, Director
of BTU Heating, said: "We were proud to be
involved in such an historic event and see this
as a benchmark for future energy production. Being
finalists for the Building Services Awards was icing
on the cake".
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The
Woking Park fuel cell will provide valuable ‘green’
energy to support Woking Borough Council’s
Pool in the Park’s heating and power systems
and Woking Park’s lighting. The heat produced
will also provide the pool’s air conditioning,
cooling and dehumidification requirements via
heat absorption cooling.
A fuel cell is similar to a battery except that
fuel is fed into the cell to generate electricity
and heat by an electro chemical process producing
pure water as its output emission. In the case
of the Woking Park scheme, hydrogen gas is chemically
reformed from natural gas and oxygen is extracted
from outside air to fuel the 200kW fuel cell.
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The technology was first used
in the USA space programme in the 1960’s
when fuel cells on board spacecraft provided the
vital heat, electricity and drinking water to
support space missions.
The Woking Park fuel cell, manufactured by UTC
Fuel Cells of the United States, is an initiative
of Woking Borough Council. The Council has long
been in the forefront of such environmentally
friendly energy systems, which was officially
recognised when they became the first local authority
to win the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Sustainable
Development in 2001. The Woking Park fuel cell
project is supported by commercial and governmental
organisations from the UK, Denmark and the USA.
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01483 590600 Fax:
01483 590601 |
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