Capstone provides biogas-fueled microturbines

Milan, Italy— The European sales and service office of Los Angeles based Capstone Turbine, a manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, announced a follow-on order from its distributor in France for 2.8 megawatts of its 30-kW biogas fueled microturbine products.

The new order from Soffimat is the second major order from the Paris-based energy systems distributor. The previous order seven months ago was for one megawatt of Capstone MicroTurbine™ energy systems.

“What we sell to our clients, we operate and field test ourselves before we go to the market,” said Fahim Samaha, president of Soffimat.

Soffimat reports it will deploy the C30 systems at four landfills in France. These units will be fueled entirely by waste gases — which would otherwise be flared — that emanate from landfills, thus creating renewable energy and improving the environment.

“Last year, Soffimat commissioned their first Capstone array at a landfill 100 kilometers north of Paris,” said Tony Hynes, Capstone’s vice-president. “The project was a tremendous success. Based on their confidence in our systems’ reliability and low emissions profile on biogas fuels, in October 2004, they placed a follow-on order for a megawatt of our products.”

One additional non-biogas unit ordered by Soffimat will be fueled with natural gas. The stand-alone C30 will operate independent of the utility grid at a brickyard. Its exhaust will be used in the brick drying process.