May 22, 2003
The Southland’s air quality agency is taking advantage of a new, environmentally
friendly technology that generates electricity on-site thanks to a $116,739
incentive award presented this week from Southern California Gas Co. (The Gas
Company®).
The South Coast Air Quality Management District this year installed four
60-kilowatt microturbines at its Diamond Bar headquarters, which provide about
15 percent of the facility’s peak electricity needs. The Gas Company provided
the funding through the state’s Self Generation Incentive Program, which gives
financial incentives to businesses for on-site electric generation.
“The Gas Company is helping us reduce our energy costs in an environmentally
friendly way,” said Barry Wallerstein, AQMD’s executive officer. “These units
demonstrate the long-term promise of clean, on-site power generation.”
The natural gas-fired microturbines – essentially miniature jet engines -- emit
low levels of smog-forming nitrogen oxides, Wallerstein said.
And since AQMD’s installation recycles the microturbines’ waste heat for the
building’s space and hot water heating system, the units’ total energy
efficiency is as high as 70 percent.
AQMD expects that the microturbines will reduce its total energy costs by at
least $100,000 per year.
In addition to the microturbines at its own facility, since 2000 AQMD has
purchased and installed 153 microturbines at 52 locations including colleges and
universities, hospitals, city halls and landfills. Funding for the
microturbines comes from air pollution penalty settlements with two energy
companies and a mitigation fee program.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) launched the Self Generation
Incentive program in 2001 in response to California’s electricity crisis. The
program provides qualifying businesses with incentives of up to 50 percent of
the costs of purchasing and installing qualifying electricity generation
systems.
“The Gas Company expects to award up to $54 million in incentives to its
business customers over the four-year life of this program,” said Richard M.
Morrow, vice president of customer service for major markets for Sempra Energy
Utilities (The Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric). “The program helps
make the purchase and installation of eligible technologies more affordable than
ever.”
The Self-Generation Incentive Program offers the following incentives:
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$1 per watt (not to exceed 30 percent of the
total project cost) for microturbines and internal combustion engines operating
on non-renewable fuels and utilizing sufficient waste heat recovery;
-
$1.50 per watt (not to exceed 40 percent of the
total project cost) for microturbines and internal combustion engines using
renewable fuels;
-
$2.50 per watt (not to exceed 40 percent of the
total project cost) for fuel cells operating on non-renewable fuels; and
-
$4.50 per watt (not to exceed half of the total
project cost) for using photovoltaic, wind turbines and fuel cells operating on
renewable fuel.
The Gas Company expects participating customers to develop a total of 50 to 60
megawatts of base load generation power -- about the same capacity available
from a small power plant.
For more information on the Self-Generation Incentive Program, customers can
visit The Gas Company’s Web
site.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of
Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
The Gas Company is the nation’s largest natural gas distribution utility,
providing safe and reliable energy to 18.9 million consumers through 5.3 million
meters. The company’s service territory encompasses 23,000 square miles in most
of central and Southern California. The Gas Company strives to provide
exceptional customer service to enhance the quality of life in the community.
The Gas Company is part of Sempra Energy Utilities, the umbrella for Sempra
Energy’s regulated California utilities. Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), based in
San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company.
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