INNOVATION IN GAS TURBINE TECHNOLOGY
About Capstone Green Energy
Founded in 1988, Capstone Green Energy develops, manufactures, sells and services microturbine energy solutions ranging in size from 30 kilowatts (kW) to 10 megawatts (MW). To date, Capstone has shipped nearly 10,000 Capstone turbines to 83 countries through our global distribution network. Capstone is the world’s leading producer of highly efficient, low-emission, resilient microturbine energy solutions and serves multiple vertical markets worldwide, including Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Natural Resources, Critical Power Supply, Transportation and Microgrids. Our award-winning systems have logged 90 million operating hours and counting. Capstone Green Energy proudly manufactures and assembles all of its microturbines in Van Nuys, California.
Small Scale Gas-Turbine Energy Solution
A microturbine is a small-scale gas turbine used to generate electricity at the location of the end-use customer rather than at a central utility power station. Generating power on-site at the user’s location prevents electricity losses over power lines, while providing the user with clean and reliable energy, including in cases of emergency grid shutdowns, extreme weather, wildfires, blackouts or brownouts. Capstone microturbines are also used as range extenders for hybrid electric vehicles (buses, trucks) or as onboard auxiliary power for marine applications.
In addition to electrical power generation, microturbines continuously produce clean exhaust heat, which can then be recovered via a heat exchanger. This thermal energy can be used in a variety of ways, including for the production of hot or cold water, steam, space heating, and for cooling via a chiller, as well as to drive industrial equipment. By utilizing the exhaust from the microturbine, businesses can cut their energy usage. The use of both electric and thermal energy simultaneously from a single fuel source is called combined heat and power (CHP). Some of our systems also provide cooling, known as combined cooling heat and power (CCHP), with the addition of a chiller.
Microturbine power plants can run ‘24/7’, and among their additional benefits to end-users are improved environmental performance and reliable, onsite energy to avoid losses from grid disruptions. Moreover, centralized electricity generation, paired with separate on-site heat generation, has a combined efficiency of about 45 percent, whereas microturbine energy systems can achieve efficiency levels of up to 80 percent with CHP, and up to 90 percent with CCHP, or higher in some cases.
Another benefit of Capstone’s unique microturbine technology is the ability to use a variety of fuels, including abundant natural gas, renewable gas, hydrogen fuel blends, propane and more in a clean and efficient manner. Essentially, we use whatever fuel the customer has available to provide a local source of reliable power and heat.