Overview

Recently, a number of microturbines generators have been announced as commercially available for sale to customers, such as end users, utilities, and energy service providers.

Manufacturers and others are reporting certain performance capabilities of the turbines; however, no consistent third-party, independent testing as been done to confirm or discredit such performance claims. The purpose of the Southern California Edison (SCE) project is to provide such an independent testing assessment.

SCE purchased, installed, operated, and tested microturbines to assess their performance. Data was collected electronically and manually. This Appendix reports on the performance testing program and reveals the relative maturity of the technology overall. It also offers a look toward the needs of the next generation of microturbines.

Overview

There are several manufacturers of microturbine generators (MTGs) announcing their products as commercially available. Their potential customers are end users, utilities, and energy service providers.

To be competitive with existing technology, most MTG manufacturers rely on enhanced reliability and lower maintenance costs. MTG manufacturers expect to achieve greater reliability and lower costs by using fewer moving parts and lower manufacturing costs. Manufacturers thus expect the economy of manufacturing of microturbines to replace the economics of scale for central plants.

For MTGs to be competitive in the marketplace, minimum customer expectations are:

• 40,000 hour wheel life

• heat rate of 12,000 to 16,000 Btu/kWh

• good partial load performance

• emissions < 9 ppm

• noise < 70 dB

• cheap and easy installation and maintenance

There is a potential market for MTGs if the MTG manufacturers...