Hospitals, college campuses and factories are among likely customers for the Modular Integrated Energy System, which boasts 80 percent to 90 percent efficiency compared to the national average of 32 percent. Those figures are based on the lower heating value of natural gas and compared to the efficiency of central power plant electricity generation and transmission. The system combines a 4.5 megawatt combustion turbine generator with a waste heat-fired 2,500-ton absorption chiller/heater to provide cooling, heating and power. ORNL co-developer Jan Berry of the Engineering Science & Technology Division notes that the Modular Integrated Energy System is unique because it is the first of its size to produce electricity and use turbine exhaust as the only source of fuel for an absorption chiller. The natural gas turbine generates electricity that can be used on site or exported to the local utility. This research was funded by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Distributed Energy Program.
Menu