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OTTO H. ROSENTRETER CO.
OHR Energy
With a strong dedication to renewable energy OHR Energy, a power development company and design-build engineering firm, is coming up with new ways to create energy and help the environment.
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Power energ the OHR w 4 Energy Leaders Today
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outhern California has a strong dedication to renewable energy and Otto H. Rosentreter Co. (OHR Energy) based in Santa Fe Springs, Ca., is coming up with new ways to create energy and a cleaner environment. The power development company and design-build engineering firm, specializes in biogas and renewable fuel cell projects. In southern California, fuel cell technology began to take off in 2005, and OHR Energy was at the forefront working with companies like FuelCell Energy. Together they completed fuel cell projects at two Sheraton Hotels in San Diego, Calif., OHR Energy’s first fuel cell installation. Since then OHR Energy has installed 21 fuel cell power plants throughout the state. The company is also talking with UTC Power and Bloom Energy about using their equipment on different projects. The fuel cell companies manufacture the fuel cell equipment while OHR Energy develops the projects, interacts with customers, provides design, permitting and installation services to complete the project.
The company’s biggest customers are municipalities, waste water treatment plants, hotels, universities, and colleges. “Anyone who has large electrical and thermal loads 24/7 are our big customers,” said company vice president, Ken Rosentreter. Rosentreter noted that they are working with a new customer, Pasadena City College, where the fuel cell could save them approximately half a million dollars a year in utility costs. Fuel cells operate like batteries but do not require recharging. It will produce energy in the form of electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied. A fuel cell consists of two electrodes sandwiched around an electrolyte. Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen over the other, generating electricity, water, and heat. About ten years ago during the California energy crisis, skyrocketing electricity rates, continued environmental regulations, and the emergence of cheap goods from China resulted in many of OHR Energy’s California foundry customers going out of business. OHR Energy had been in the foundry business since its formation in 1952, but it found itself in need of a change. So around 2001, it entered the cogeneration business and began exploring fuel cells.
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Because of the volatility of the electricity market during the last couple years, the company has found that the installation of fuel cells fed by natural gas and/or renewable fuels such as Anaerobic Digester Gas offer a reliable and inexpensive source for electricity, while at the same time providing clean renewable energy. HR Energy is working on an exciting new project with the Sonoma County Water Agency which involves the use of chicken waste from local egg producers as the feedstock for a new anaerobic digester. OHR Energy responded to an RFP for a fuel cell running on natural gas, but the project has evolved into this larger, more cutting edge project. The Agency will host the digester, built by OHR Energy’s strategic partner Biostar Systems, LLC, and a fuel cell that will consume methane released by the chicken waste digester. A significant byproduct of animal waste is methane. “I think we’ll soon see methane come to the forefront of greenhouse gasses,” Rosentreter said. “CO2 gets all the bad press, but methane is 21 times worse for the environment.” The digester creates methane as the bacteria inside it digest the waste stream. The methane is then captured, and sent to a gas conditioning system. The gas conditioning system cleans and compresses the methane to a point where it is pipeline quality, at which point the methane is either sent to the fuel cell cogeneration system or injected into the utility natural gas pipeline. Once in the pipeline, the methane can be nominated for use in another fuel cell, such as one installed at a hotel or university, which has no source for renewable gas. Because this second fuel cell is running on methane injected into the pipeline and nominated for use onsite, it is a renewable energy source. “There is no flame and no combustion interacting with the methane during the electro-chemical conversion process of a fuel cell, therefore the emissions are miniscule,” Rosentreter said. “In California these (projects) will get a lot of press. We’re able to create renewable fuel and renewable electricity while removing something harmful (methane) from the environment,” he said. Along with benefits to the environment, fuel cells can benefit one’s wallet. A reduction in energy service costs for a building can be between 20 to 40 percent. And federal and
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state incentives can make upfront costs nonexistent. The state’s Self Generation Incentive Program can be quite lucrative. The dollar per kilowatt rebate is $2500 per kilowatt for natural gas and $4500 per kilowatt on biogas or other renewable fuel. A federal treasury grant cuts a check for 30 percent of the total project cost in lieu of incentive tax credits. The cost for a 1.4 megawatt fuel cell along with installation is approximately $7.5-8 million. OHR Energy is also working on Advanced Energy Storage which is similar to a big battery that converts electricity into another form of stored energy. This energy – in multi megawatt ranges - can be stored onsite and then converted back to electricity at another time. By coupling this system with fuel cells, customers have a reliable source for back up power that can power their critical energy needs in case of a utility blackout. Advanced Energy Storage systems also allow customers to store power produced at night from fuel cells and use the energy during the day when electricity rates are the highest. “We store energy at night when it’s cheaper to purchase from the utility, and then consume the electricity stored in the battery during the day when electricity is more expensive,” said Rosentreter. “This results in a cost savings in addition to the back up power supplied by the battery.” OHR Energy markets directly to its customers, companies who Rosentreter feels are “good matches” based on a company’s philosophy and energy profile. OHR Energy’s comprehensive website www.ohrenergy.com, is an excellent source of marketing for them, he said. “We definitely have the most experience out there and have done projects for the widest range of customers,” he said. “Our extensive portfolio and our experience speak for itself.” The company works throughout all of California and is branching out into other states because large companies have approached them. Rosentreter said that although the companies do not receive the same level of incentives as those available to customers in California, they are motivated by being socially responsible and doing something that’s good for the environment. “It is financially harder for them, but they
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SNOWDEN ELECTRIC Snowden Electric Company is a Southern California based electrical contractor with over 32 years of experience in commercial/industrial electrical design, engineering, and installation. A little over ten years ago, Snowden Electric began an endeavor into cogeneration plants and has since become an industry leader in renewable energy fuel cell installation. The Snowden team alongside the Rosentreter Company has installed prize-winning fuel cell cogeneration plants from San Diego to Sonoma County. Snowden Electric’s record for success is proven by over 20 awards for electrical excellence presented by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). Snowden’s team is comprised of some of the brightest electricians, project managers, CAD designers, and electrical engineers in the industry. Snowden Electric carries one of the highest regarded names in electrical construction. All of Snowden’s clients can attest to their unparalleled commitment, and the level of service offered. Snowden Electric offers 24-hour emergency service 7 days a week, and their service provides professional, experienced project managers who are available anytime. Snowden 8 Energy Leaders Today
want to be a part of these types of projects,” Rosentreter said. Rosentreter came to work for OHR in 2001 after graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with an economics degree. He also holds a master’s degree in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. The company is a family-run business. His father, Bill Rosentreter is president. Ken Rosentreter’s grandfather started the company after working in the foundry industry for many years. Business is so strong, Ken and Bill Rosentreter will be bringing in a third person to join the company. Five years down the road, Ken Rosentreter sees the company more than doubling its business. Currently the company has its hands full during the next two years with 25 projects in different stages of development. The company’s annual revenue is about $6 million. “In the last eighteen months we’ve gotten really busy. We’ve had more inquiries into what we’re doing,” he said. “I’m confident this will continue to take off.” Like a fuel cell storing up power, OHR Energy has powerful prospects for the future. Its solid reputation for excellence and ingenuity is guiding it toward even stronger success. ELT
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ESC CO. The biogas purification system is a substantial part of the Turlock I.D. fuel cell power generation project. Biogas purity is critical for the longevity of the fuel cell’s reformer, which converts the methane to hydrogen. After conversion, the hydrogen produces the electricity. The fuel cell reformer requires the digester gas to have no more than 30 parts per billion total sulfur species, less than 100 parts per billion halogenated species, and less than 1,000 parts per billion organic silicon species. ESC corp. is one of the few companies in the world that can provide biogas ultrapurification systems for fuel cells. Without ultrapure biogas, the fuel cells would not be able to produce power.
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