Distribution generation may be the future of the power industry, but following Irene’s blackouts, several Connecticut businesses were glad they signed up for the future early.
As not-in-my-backyard efforts make building large power generation plants nearly impossible, the energy industry will turn to distributed generation. The concept involves using much smaller power plants — solar panels, small wind turbines, fuel cells, cogeneration plants — that provide power for a much smaller area, such as a single building, campus or city block, said Reed Hundt, CEO of Washington D.C.-based Coalition for Green Capital, who spoke on the topic on Aug. 25 in Hartford.
Distributed generation is already popular among Connecticut business. More companies — such as Hartford conglomerate United Technologies Corp. — are installing their own power facilities, and utility seminars on the topic are gathering more interest than ever. The principal reason for the rise in onsite power is conservation, as more companies want to control their energy costs and lessen their impact on the environment.
Connecticut businesses committed to distributed generation early were thankful in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, which knocked out power to nearly 1 million ratepayers starting Aug. 28 and left them in the dark for several days.
But those companies with distributed generation either kept the lights on because of their onsite power, or they were better positioned once the grid electricity came back online.
The Frito Lay manufacturing facility in Killingly is 100 percent off the power grid thanks to its co-generation plant.
While the Frito Lay facility — normally a 24/7 operation — powered down on Saturday as a precaution in advance of the storm, the manufacturer was able to power back up on Monday using its co-generation plant, even while the rest of Killingly was without power. Three days after the storm, 62 percent of Killingly remained dark, according to Berlin electric utility Connecticut Light & Power.
“The Northeast power grid is one of the most stressed,” said Aurora Gonzalez, Frito Lay spokeswoman. “Putting in a system that had an environmental benefit while also giving us some stability against power loss” was the reason for the installation.
Glastonbury was among the hardest hit retail centers after Irene. Four days after the storm, 58 percent of the city remained dark.
But Whole Foods Market in Glastonbury was able to power up at noon on Aug. 30, in advance of much of the rest of the city and aiding some customers anxious for supplies, said Tom Neal, Whole Foods Glastonbury store team leader.
“People were definitely glad to see us open up,” Neal said.
Whole Foods Glastonbury has a 200-kilowatt fuel cell that provides 50 percent of its power. While the store couldn’t open just using the fuel cell, its power was able to keep the freezers and refrigerators operating during the power outage, minimizing loss of product.
“That put us in a good position when we did reopen,” Neal said.
Mohegan Sun in Uncasville uses grid power but has back-up onsite power generators. This made the resort casino a desirable destination for locals as Irene approached, said Jeffrey Hartmann, Mohegan Sun president and CEO. Guests checked in before the storm because they knew they could stay at Mohegan and have power afterward.
“Until they get up and running at home, they are staying here,” Hartmann said. “Not a bad place to be when you are riding out the storm.”
Mohegan Sun never lost its connection with the power grid, but most of the area residents did. So after business was down Saturday and Sunday as long-distance travelers stayed away, business was above average on Monday and Tuesday, particularly from locals visiting the restaurants inside the resort casino, Hartmann said.
“There’s not a lot to do in southeast Connecticut right now, so we are picking up a little business there,” Hartmann said.
Unfortunately for nearly all Connecticut businesses and residents with solar panels, they were unable to use their distributed generation following power loss after the storm, said Michael Trahan, executive director for industry association Solar Connecticut.
Solar arrays have an inverter that converts the solar energy into electricity. Unless a home or business is 100 percent off the grid, this inverter shuts down during a power outage, as a safety precaution to protect utility crews, Trahan said. Customers can buy an inverter that doesn’t disconnect; but it’s expensive and most Connecticut solar arrays don’t have them.
“I suspect people … will be considering that option, especially considering what people have went through in the past few days,” Trahan said.
The headquarters of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford — a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. — never lost power, so its 450-panel solar array remained operational during and after the storm, said Paul Jackson, Sikorsky spokesman.
Sikorsky will be close to 100 percent off the power grid after its 10-megawatt cogeneration plant is fully up and running..
After the storm, Sikorsky ran the cogeneration facility at 50 percent capacity and shutdown much of its operations, reducing the company’s need for grid power to 1 megawatt.
A big beneficiaries of the wind from Hurricane Irene was the New Haven printing company Phoenix Press, Inc. The company has a wind turbine generating power for the facility and for the grid on particularly windy days.
If the wind is more than 60 mph, then the Phoenix Press turbine will shut down for safety. Even though Irene was predicted to have stronger winds, the Phoenix Press turbine shut down only once over the weekend.
Because the turbine stayed running and the grid never lost power, Phoenix Press was able to put power back onto the grid during the storm, said Brian Driscoll, Phoenix Press president.
The turbine generated 2,500 kilowatts of power over the 48-hour period surrounding Irene’s trip through Connecticut — more than four times the amount of electricity the turbine normally generates.
“It will be nice to get a credit and have a smaller electric bill,” Driscoll said.
