SoCalGas invests in Tecogen to meet customer onsite power gen needs

Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) has made a $500,000 equity investment in Tecogen, a developer and manufacturer ultra-clean natural gas-driven combined heat and power (CHP) products for commercial and industrial facilities to add to the its own growing clean energy portfolio.

At Phoenix Beverages in Brooklyn, NY, Tecogen onsite generation provides for all the electrical needs of the 263,000 square foot facility.

The utility's equity investment program is part of the Research Development and Demonstration program authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission to support the advancement of technologies that further Commission goals for clean air and benefit customers through wider availability of beneficial technologies.

SoCalGas has long been an advocate of developing new and cutting edge technologies, such as co-generation and combined heat and power technology, because its customers have a need to generate clean, reliable power onsite.

"Natural gas engines have a long history of reliable, efficient, and cost effective operations.  However, since February 2008, when new and stricter emissions control regulations went into effect in the South Coast Air Basin, there has been little or no new gas engine combined heat and power technology introduced that can meet these increasingly stringent standards," Hal Snyder, Vice President of Customer Solutions for SoCalGas, said in an interview with FierceEnergy. 

"Tecogen has made significant advances in emissions reduction technology that are unique to the industry.  This technology will offer customers the ability to meet their onsite power applications in a sustainable manner, and reduce their carbon footprint. The benefit for the utility is continued and expanding availability of equipment choices that support the use of natural gas while supporting ever cleaner air," Snyder said.

For more:
- see this release 

Related Articles:
Fuel Cells 2000: US ahead of international competition
Will Micro CHP be the next sleeper market to come out of the shadows in the U.S.?