Capstone Turbine Corporation, the world's leading clean technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, announced today that it has received another follow-on order, this time for a five-bay C600 Signature Series microturbine to be installed in a combined heat and power (CHP) application for one of the world's largest latex-based product manufacturers. DTC Ecoenergía, Capstone's exclusive distributor for Mexico, secured the order, which is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year.
"Many don't realize that in 2012, Mexico became the first, large oil-producing emerging economy to adopt climate legislation with common-sense goal setting, which is the first step for every country in advancing the world's efforts to address global climate change," said Darren Jamison, President and Chief Executive Officer. "An additional 2018 decree brought Mexico's domestic emission reduction targets in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change, which currently put it ahead of the U.S. on climate change initiatives. However, the new U.S. President-elect Joe Biden pledged recently to rejoin the Paris climate accord on the first day of his presidency," said Mr. Jamison.
The natural gas-fueled C600S package is expected be installed at the industrial manufacturer's Guadalajara facility and is intended to provide 24/7 reliable and continuous electrical power and thermal energy for the plant. The clean exhaust will be fed into an industrial oven to dry the latex. The innovative drying process has helped the plant lower energy costs, improve efficiency, and reduce on-site emissions. A five-bay microturbine enclosure will be installed to easily and quickly allow the plant's future expansion from 600 kilowatts (kW) up to a full 1 megawatt (MW).
The initial order for a 1 MW microturbine has resulted in a customer-estimated energy consumption savings of approximately 62% and has been reported by DTC Ecoenergía to have an investment payback period of approximately two years. This follow-on order adds an additional 600 kW of clean and reliable power generation.
"These efficiency improvements directly translate to significantly lower energy costs and higher profit margins for our industrial customers in Mexico," said Alejandro Muñoz, President of DTC Ecoenergía. "As utility rates continue to rise, manufacturers are opting to take matters into their own hands by adopting energy-efficient solutions like Capstone microturbines to increase resiliency and lower their carbon footprint," concluded Mr. Muñoz.
Utilizing the heat by-product from a microturbine allows operators to reduce emissions and save added costs that would otherwise be required to produce heat or steam in a separate unit. While traditional electricity from the grid with coal and gas-fired plants produce power at 33% efficiency, Capstone CHP systems can reach efficiencies of more than 80%.
A 10-year Factory Protection Plan (FPP) long-term service contract was ordered along with each of the two microturbines. Capstone's innovative FPP is a comprehensive maintenance program designed to give financial peace of mind to microturbine customers by providing product life cycle costs at a fixed rate for both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance for the life of the microturbine system.
