Capstone to Power Caribbean Hotel with Cogeneration Solution

(December 18, 2017) — Capstone Turbine Corp. (Chatsworth, Calif.), a manufacturer of micro-turbine energy systems, said in November 2017 it had received an order for two C200 micro-turbines to provide combined heat and power (CHP) for a Jamaican hotel. The propane-fueled units will provide electrical power to site loads, and the thermal energy from the exhaust will be used via an absorption chiller to provide chilled water to the building’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system.

When deployed in this configuration, the total system efficiency can exceed 80%, notes Capstone, providing significant savings to the customer. In addition, the micro-turbines reduce customer dependence on the local utility grid, which can be unstable, unreliable, and susceptible to severe weather events such as hurricanes.

“Because of the tremendous resiliency of micro-turbines, the majority of Capstone customers experience minimal downtime, if any at all, during utility outages caused by severe weather events,” said Darren Jamison, president and CEO of Capstone. “More businesses are becoming increasingly receptive to the idea of onsite distributed power generation as a way to harden infrastructure, to not only provide operational savings with onsite generation but also provide critical emergency backup power during large- scale power outages.”

During the most recent hurricane season, virtually all Capstone micro-turbines in the affected areas remained fully operational, added Jamison. In the case of St. Thomas, one resort was able to continue operating after the hurricane with its 1.8-Mw gas-fired Capstone micro-turbine power plant. Reportedly, it was the only resort in the area with both power and water after the storm.

“Propane-fueled Capstone turbines are the growing solution for distributed power generation in markets with limited or no natural gas infrastructure,” said Jim Crouse, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Capstone. “Micro-turbines are able to provide significant operational savings while running on a wide range of fuels, and we expect this global trend to continue as it’s a great way for customers to both save money and protect against long-term utility outages caused by severe weather events.”

(SOURCE: The Weekly Propane Newsletter, December 18, 2017)