CRITICAL POWER. Hospitals need a reliable source of electricity to keep life saving equipment up and running during power outages. So too, they must meet increasing power demands from that same equipment. Being a good steward of the environment would be a plus for any hospital.

South County Hospital in Wakefield, Rhode Island will be installing an ONSI model PC25 (tm) 200 kilowatt fuel cell for both their own distributed generation and back-up power. The natural gas fueled generator will annually displace more than 40,000 pounds of pollutants and 1100 tons of carbon dioxide, according to ONSI. For increased efficiency, heat from the unit will be used for space heating. More than 100 ONSI fuel cells are in service.Visit ONSI at http://www.onsicorp.com/ .

BIOMASS FUELS ETHANOL PRODUCTION. DTE Biomass Energy and partner Landfill Energy Systems have begun piping methane gas from a landfill in Wichita, Kansas to a High Plains Corp. ethanol production facility 11 miles away.

According to DTE,landfill gas is described a blend of methane and carbon dioxide, both greenhouse gases. Methane gas at the landfill site is dewatered and compressed. At the ethanol facility it fuels boilers. For an uninterrupted energy supply, natural gas can be blended with the methane or either gas used independently. DTE Biomass claims to have collected more than 15 billion cubic feet from landfills in 1998 alone. Visit DTE at http://www.dtebe.com/ .

FUELING INTEREST IN GENERATION. As power deregulation takes hold, time-tested generation equipment manufacturers are eying new market possibilities.

Cummins Power Generation Americas and Wartsila NSD North America have agreed to a new joint venture - Combined Energy Systems. The new company will look for market opportunities in municipal / commercial / industrial cogeneration to provide electricity along with steam or hot water for space and water heating, or for use with absorption chillers.

GE Power Systems also jumped into the game by offering rentals of generation equipment through its new company GE Energy Rentals. Look for a variety of short-term, long-term or rent-to-own distributed generation energy solutions including fuel cells, microturbines and diesel power.

Both new companies could consider biodiesel as renewable fuel for their diesel installations. Griffin Industries offers its BioG-3000 biodiesel made from virgin and spent vegetable oils. The fuel can be blended with diesel fuel or used by itself. Visit Cummins at http://www.cummins.com/ , Wartsila at http://www.wartsila-nsd.com/ , General Electric at http://www.ge.com/powersystems/ and Griffin Industries at http://www.griffinind.com/ .

VICTORY AGAIN. For the sixth consecutive year, Ovonic nickel metal hydride batteries have powered electric vehicles more than 200 miles on a single charge in the American Tour de Sol. The first place Ovonic powered EV was entered by EVermont, traveling 146 miles. The second place car entered by Energy Conversion Device's Ovonic Battery went 217 miles. (A number of factors determine placing.) Visit ECD at http://ovonic.com/ .

Back Issues ENERGIES...the free weekly e-letter of products, innovation, issues and education in clean, renewable and efficient energy. Visit Green Energy News on the Web at http://www.nrglink.com for past issues. For free subscription contact bmulliken@nrglink.com. Copyright Green Energy News Inc. 6/12/99 vol.4 no.10.