Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/01/1994

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CASE REQUEST FOR A TEMPORARY CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR AN ALTERNATE FUEL SUPPLY TEST DEMONSTRATION FACILITY; CASE OF KALTEC OF MINNESOTA, INC. By: Zoning Administrator Sylvia Frollk Background: Kaltec of Minnesota, Inc. has applied for a temporary conditional use permit to establish and operate a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell test demonstration facility on the landfill property at 14730 Sunfish Lake Blvd. N.W. Kaltec would be leasing a portion of Waste Management's property for this demonstration project. The following items are enclosed for your information: a) b) c) d) e) Site location map Kaltec's application Letter of endorsement of U.S. Congressman Grams Proposed f'mdings of fact Proposed CUP Observations: The demonstration facility consists of a 9,000 square foot pole barn for housing a fuel cell, gas processing equipment and support equipment. Two mobile type structures would also be brought onto the site to provide office and bathroom facilities for site personnel. Access to the site will be from the exiting landfill entrance. The equipment to be housed in the structure was developed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to demonstrate alternate fuel supplies using fuel cell technology. The equipment will utilize methane gas currently generated by the Landfill to demonstrate the potential use in generating electricity. There is no end use planned for the energy created during the demonstration project and it will simply dissipate. The demonstration project proposes to have the equipment operational for a period of 4,000 hours (6 months). The Applicant has indicated that the noise level associated with the facility will be lower than that of the existing blowers at the site associated with the groundwater cleanup activity. Because the methane gas is extracted from piping prior to the existing flaring process and because the methane gas is cleaned before it is introduced to the fuel cell, odors from the facility would be less than that which currently exists. The nature of this demonstration project is such that it does not require any State or County permits. The Applicant states that a successful demonstration project will receive National attention because of the need to develop technologies to replace the dependence on fossil fuel for the generation of electrical power.