Capstone Turbine Corporation has received a follow-on order of a fourth 1 megawatt (MW) C1000 Signature Series microturbine for a California-based cannabis grow operator. Cal Microturbine, Capstone's exclusive distributor in California, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Nevada secured the order, which is expected to be commissioned this summer.
"We have undoubtedly seen a slowdown in the hospitality, healthcare, and oil and gas markets as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, but we have seen steady business from our cannabis and beer manufacturing customers," said Darren Jamison, President and Chief Executive Officer of Capstone Turbine. "As the U.S. and other countries begin to reopen, we are starting to see industrial manufacturers and municipalities coming back online at a faster pace," added Mr. Jamison.
Cannabis cultivation is an energy-intensive operation, and utilities have struggled to provide adequate and resilient power to support growth. This problem is compounded for facilities in remote areas where infrastructure is not in place to support energy demand for grow operations. Capstone microturbines avoid the vulnerabilities of a traditional electric grid by generating power on-site at the source.
Four ultra-low emission C1000S microturbines will provide 4 MWs of prime power to the self-sustained operation that will encompass growth, production and distribution operations. The microturbines will be installed in a highly-efficient combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) application that allows the customer to utilize exhaust energy for space conditioning, chilled/hot water, and dehumidification. The stand-alone configuration ensures essential redundancy for seamless power in the event of a utility grid failure.
"Cal Microturbine is seeing a lot of growth in the multi-megawatt market. Capstone's low maintenance and redundant design not only provides the benefits of superior reliability and low operating costs but also avoids the costs and hassle of a full-time on-site power plant operator, which is required by most other technologies of this size," said Ryan Brown, Managing Partner, Cal Microturbine.
After a thorough analysis comparing various distributed generation technologies, operators ultimately chose low-emission Capstone microturbines as the ideal solution for their scalability, resiliency, and ability to reduce energy costs. In addition, Capstone's microturbines can provide on-site energy in a number of weeks as opposed to months or years and at a cost typically lower than the local grid.
"Like many customers, this facility experienced the need for additional power as operations expanded. Capstone's inverter-based generation modules made it easy and cost-effective to add generation capacity on as-needed quickly," said Marc Rouse, Executive Vice President of Sales, Cal Microturbine.
For more information:
Capstone Turbine Corp
16640 Stagg Street
CA 91406
+1 818-734-5300
capstoneturbine.com