IVITAS puts a “CAPSTONE” on their power engineering services
IVITAS has just announced their new partnership with CAPSTONE GREEN ENERGY CORPORATION®, which was formerly CAPSTONE TURBINE CORPORATION® (www.capstonegreenenergy.com), where they will be responsible for design and implementation of energy solutions based on the CAPSTONE microturbine product line in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. CAPSTONE is a leading provider of customized microgrid solutions and on-site energy technology systems focused on helping customers around the globe meet their carbon reduction, energy savings and resiliency goals.
To date, Capstone has shipped over 10,000 units to 83 countries and in FY21, saved customers an estimated $217 million in annual energy costs and 397,000 tons of carbon. Total savings over the last three years are estimated at 1,115,100 tons of carbon and $698 million in annual energy savings.
A conversation with CAPSTONE
We sat down with CAPSTONE’s Business Development Director John Buckoke to learn more about CAPSTONE, their new partnership with IVITAS and their outlook for the future.
Can you give us a brief overview of the CAPSTONE brand, its technology and the microturbine products it offers?
Sure. The mantra we live by at CAPSTONE is “Shift To Green”, which refers to our focus on clean and reliable energy. We achieve this through the integration our innovative turbine engine, magnetic generator, advanced power electronics, and patented air bearing technology to produce power in a wide range of applications. The multiple markets CAPSTONE GREEN ENERGYserves include natural resources, energy efficiency, renewable energy, critical power supply, transportation and microgrids.
Our microturbines utilize a wide variety of fuels, which include natural gas, associated gas, biogas, LPG/propane, and liquid fuels (diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel). In resource recovery applications, our microturbines burn waste gases that would otherwise be flared or released directly into the atmosphere. Our systems have the lowest emissions of any non-catalyzed gas combustion engine.
We offer a comprehensive, scalable range of 65 kWs to 1 MWs systems. Our microturbines can be installed individually or in a “multi-pack” configuration and function in parallel with, or independently from, the local power grid. They are compact, quiet, light and provide reliable energy when and where it's needed.
The exclusive air bearing technology found in our microturbines means that lubrication is not necessary. They also have only one moving part. The combination of these two features translates into extremely low maintenance requirements and virtually non-existent downtimes.
CAPSTONE power generation solutions help improve our clients’ operations by putting them in full control of their energy costs.
What would you consider the ideal clients that would benefit from a solution based on CAPSTONE microturbines?
Ideal clients can be grouped into three categories - those wanting to generate heating, cooling, and electricity on-site; those with gaseous fuels for generating variable power (0 – 100%); and those with a combination of these two needs.
An additional, specific group of clients is from the area of critical infrastructure, which requires a reliable backup source in the case of network failure.
Examples of clients that would benefit from on-site generation of heating, cooling and electricity include Multi-Occupancy Residential, Retail, Office Space, Leisure and Hotels, Food and Beverage, Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Aggregates.
Clients that have gaseous fuels for generating power with variable quality, and sometimes heating and cooling loads, would include Oil and Gas, Landfill, and Anaerobic Digestion operators. Our systems can follow heat and electrical loads from 0-100-%.
What are the advantages of CAPSTONE microturbines?
Their main advantages are maintenance cost-risk, energy efficiency, ultra-low emissions, simplicity, scalability and low maintenance.
It’s interesting to note that our turbines deliver a downtime efficiency of 99.5%, which works out to about 4 hours per year. Since CAPSTONE systems are modular, you can shut down one turbine while the others continue working. This actually leads to an effective efficiency of 100%, but we tend to be conservative in our statements, so let’s stick with the lower claim of 99.5%.
We offer extended warranties of 5, 10, 15, and 20 years for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance for our systems, with payments made on a yearly basis. Companies can therefore count with a fixed maintenance cost each year for controlling risk.
Can you tell us about a few noteworthy CAPSTONE projects?
Yes, of course. Let me give you two examples from neighboring Germany, which is an important market for Capstone. The first is the installation of a C1000 microturbine with a two-stage heat exchanger for the Gerolsteiner beverage manufacturer, where hot water and steam are used for rinsing and disinfecting bottles, and the electricity produced is used in production. The second example is the C800 microturbine-based system, which is installed at METRO C&C. This installation is operated in conjunction with an absorption refrigeration unit that is used to cool freezers and air conditioning warehouses and offices. Surplus electricity is supplied to the grid.
Many other interesting reference projects are listed on our website at https://www.capstonegreenenergy.com/, as well as on the websites of partner companies.
Are there any new or upcoming developments in the CAPSTONE product line?
Referring once again to our “Shift to green”, we are planning to move more in the direction of renewables. Microgrids are also within our sights, as we want to give our clients the means to be completely self-reliant for their power. This will come in the form of turbines, batteries and solar panels. The combination of these systems will ensure that power will always be available, no matter what.
Why did you decide on IVITAS and what do you expect from this partnership going forward?
IVITAS is a very special company and what we consider to be a perfect partner. They specialize in energy engineering and offer a wide range of services delivered by their team of highly experienced engineering and design professionals.
IVITAS provides complete, comprehensive energy generation solutions for their clients, which was a very important consideration for us. Our turbine systems should be one part of a complete, well mapped out solution and not be sold as a commodity. IVITAS has a deep understanding of this fact and their decades of experience in system integration made them the best choice as a strong partner for us in this region.
Going forward, IVITAS will become an authorized service center with a total of three CAPSTONE-trained service technicians. They will eventually have stock of a few spare parts, although these will be rarely needed for our low maintenance systems.
We look forward to IVITAS helping us growing the CAPSTONE brand in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. There is certainly a bright future ahead with IVITAS and we expect them to become one of CAPSTONE’s most important distributors in Europe.
What are CAPSTONE’s plans for the future?
As mentioned earlier, our focus will be on renewables and microgrids. These will include our entrance into energy storage with lithium batteries, power generation from heat (hot water and steam) and solar panels. We also have plans for the introduction of rental options for our turbines, batteries and solar panels. These rental options would be for clients that need power on a temporary basis, such as festivals and other special events.
With launching of the new IVITAS/CAPSTONE GREEN ENERGY partnership, more green energy options will be available in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, with IVITAS clients and the environment being the ultimate winners.
