WCSU Installing Fuel Cell to Power Science Building

United Technologies has won a bid to build a fuel cell on Osborne Street to sell power to WCSU's new science building.

The school isn't buying the fuel cell. It isn't paying to operate it or repair it. It has agreed to buy power from it to provide the science building with heat and power. UTC will own and operate the 400 kilowatt fuel cell on the lawn between the science building and Osborne Street.

"We have been talking about a fuel cell a long time at this university," said President James Schmotter. "It will improve our efficiency and send a message about sustainability."

The university may also work the fuel cell technology and the fuel cell itself into the science curriculum. The contracts were signed on April 10, and construction is scheduled to begin on July 9 with work completion scheduled for Dec. 14. The fuel cell will arrive in Danbury on Aug. 31.

The state Department of Economic and Community Development have worked for more than five years to encourage the building of fuel cells in Connecticut. FuelCell Energy of Danbury has been operating in Danbury since the 1970s, and it runs a fuel cell manufacturing plant in Torrington. The state Department of Labor has encouraged local community colleges and technical colleges to train workers for the fuel cell industry. FuelCell Energy makes fuel cells that generate more than two megawatts of power, making them too large for the 400 killowatts of power required for the science building.

Luigi Marcone, director of facilities operations and of environmental health and safety, said not only will the fuel cell power 100 percent of the electrical needs of the building, it will also heat the building and heat its hot water. In the summer the fuel cell will dehumidify the building, thus making it work year round.

"There will be no smell, no big noise," Marcone said in a prepared press release. "It's just going to be a big box in our back yard providing electricity and heat."

This fuel cell takes natural gas, and after mixing it with air, creates electricity, plus water plus heat. The water is used as steam in the fuel cell process, and the heat will be used inside the building. The electricity will power the building.

The university expects to save $30,000 per year with this fuel cell.