The U.S. Coast Guard Research & Development Center wanted to demonstrate that fuel cells are capable of providing power to operational units during power outages caused by adverse weather conditions, such as ice storms or blizzards. The center chose to install a FuelCell Energy Model DFC 300 250-kilowatt natural gas fuel cell at Air Station Cape Cod, one of the largest U.S. Coast Guard air stations on the East Coast. In addition to electric power, the fuel cell provides heat for domestic hot water for the Bachelor's Quarters and an associated galley and, at full 250-kilowatt design output, has the potential to provide space heating for the entire building.
In its first 12 months of operation, the fuel cell averaged an operating availability of 96.2 percent above its first year's expected design availability, producing a total of 1,392 megawatt-hours of electricity; 1,250 megawatt-hours of total production powered the entire Air Station Cape Cod building loads, while the remaining142 megawatt-hours powered the internal fuel cell loads. Over the same year, approximately 1,832 MMBtu of recovered heat was utilized for domestic hot water use, offsetting the purchase of nearly 26.3 million cubic feet of natural gas and resulting in a total net savings of almost $24,000 in operating expenses.