Solid oxide fuel cell application in district cooling

This paper presents analysis of the performance of a combined cooling and power (CCP) system for district cooling. The cogeneration system is designed to provide cooling for a low-rise residential district of 27,300 RT (96 MWc). A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) generates electric power to operate chillers, and the exhaust fuel and heat from the SOFC run gas turbines and absorption chillers. Thermal energy storage is utilized to reduce system capacity. Part-load operation strategies target maximizing energy efficiency. The operation of the system is compared through an hourly simulation to that of packaged air-conditioning units typically used to cool homes. The CCP system with the district cooling arrangement improves the cooling-to-fuel efficiency by 346%. The peak power requirement is reduced by 57% (24 MW) and the total fuel energy is reduced by 54% (750 TJ y−1). The system cuts annual carbon dioxide emissions to less than half and reduces other harmful emissions. A cost analysis of the system components and operation resulted in a 53% reduction in the cost per ton-hour of cooling over traditional systems.