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 Creating Clean Power with Free Fuel from Anaerobic Digestor Gas with the PureCell® Model 200 Fuel Cell Powerplant
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is a green power pioneer
In 1997, NYPA was the first North American organization to successfully install and operate a fuel cell that runs on free fuel – anaerobic digester gas (ADG). The first PureCell® Model 200 power solution, located at the Westchester County wastewater treatment facility in Yonkers, generates 200 kilowatts of electricity and up to 900,000 BTU/hr of usable heat. Today, NYPA has a total of nine ADG fuel cells from UTC Power at five locations.
“NYPA is proud to be a world leader in the promotion of new, clean energy technologies. Our goal is to improve air quality while providing energy security and reliability to our customers.”
Shalom Zelingher
Former Director,
Research & Technology Development
New York Power Authority (NYPA)
Anaerobic digester gas is a byproduct of anaerobic decomposition, a method used to purify water at wastewater treatment facilities. While beneficial to water quality, the gas created as part of the process, even after being flared, can increase air pollution through the release of harmful greenhouse gases.
The emissions from flared ADG are substantial enough to warrant designation as a stationary source of air pollution under the Federal Clean Air Act. To minimize the associated negative impact of flaring, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which owns and operates numerous wastewater treatment facilities, and NYPA worked together to redirect the flared ADG to power the fuel cells at four of the sites in the city.
The PureCell® Model 200 fuel cell powerplant was the optimal solution. With the addition of a gas processing unit, the fuel cell cleans the ADG and uses it to create premium quality power and heat with ultra low emissions. The improved air quality benefits local residents and global citizens alike.
“UTC Power continues to lead the industry in the development of new fuel cell technologies and applications. We remain dedicated to the exploration of new ways to create value for our customers, while maintaining high product and reliability standards.”
Jan van Dokkum
President, UTC Power
The NYPA funded the ADG fuel cell projects in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Today, UTC Power fuel cells generate 2.8 megawatts of power from ADG sites. With over 6 million kilowatt hours of renewable experience, the PureCell®system has proven its capability operating on ADG fuel. And the ADG application has been verification tested by the EPA through its strict Environmental Technology Verification program. Free fuel, assured power and proven experience you can count on.
The nine PureCell® solutions impact the environment in a significant and positive way. They reduce NOx emissions equivalent to removing 1,310 cars* from the roadways per year. In addition, the collective systems create the same environmental benefits as planting 1,470 acres** of forest.
* Each car assumed to generate 38 lb NOx/year (Ref: U.S. EPA).
** Each acre of forest assumed to absorb 1.3 ton of carbon per year (Ref: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). | 
