Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd
(ASX:CFU) has announced that its BlueGen small-scale gas-to-electricity unit has been installed in a home in a southern Melbourne suburb.
The installation of the unit is part of a $1.3 million pilot program in Victoria in which 30 BlueGen units will be installed in public housing properties as part of the state’s Sustainability Fund program.
Ceramic Fuel Cells is a developer of high efficiency and low emission electricity generation units, and its recently installed BlueGen unit will be supported by energy retailer Origin Energy Ltd (ASX:ORG), who will offer a feed-in tariff to the home’s tenant for excess electricity that is being exported to the grid.
Chairman Jeff Harding says that BlueGen will lower carbon emissions and save money through lower electricity costs, in addition to negating the need for larger scale investment in electricity distribution infrastructure.
About the size of a dishwasher, Blue Gen units produce around 12,500 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, about twice the amount used by the average home in Melbourne.
Ceramic Fuel Cells advises BlueGen has an overall electrical efficiency of 85 per cent, compared to around 25 per cent efficiency for coal-derived electricity.
Ceramic Fuel Cells reported a loss of $19.65 million in the year to 30 June 2010.
