The first housing association in Wales to install a fuel cell combined heat and power system to cut energy bills, carbon emissions and allow for electricity to be produced on site for use by tenants has been supplied by a Scottish renewables provider.
This new technology has been installed at Alltwen in Newydd, an independent living scheme for people aged 55 and above, using BlueGEN, a system where heat and electricity is provided using the same product.
This has meant that gas is used to produce energy at the housing scheme providing financial as well as environmental benefits.
BlueGEN is the first product to apply this technology in the UK and receive feed in tariff. It generates electricity as efficiently as a large modern gas-fired power station but unlike a power station transmission losses are avoided and the heat that is generated can also be used, providing the most efficient method of using gas to create usable energy.
Fuel cell combined heat and power systems are well established, with many thousands of installations completed in Japan and Germany. However, it is a lot less well known in the UK. This unit was made by SOLIDpower, supplied by iPower with support from Ynni Glan in Wales and installed by the local company Ecofit Energy Systems.
Jon Cape, Managing Director of iPower, said: “We were delighted to have worked with Newydd Housing Association and Ecofit on this project. Besides saving money, BlueGEN cuts carbon emissions and can also help cut local air pollution which we know is an increasing public health concern.”
25 Sept 2017
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