AlliedSignal Power Systems is gearing up to tackle the distributed generation microturbine market, which is expected to take off in 1999. This year it is scheduled to produce only 150 of its TurboGeneratorO units, each with 75 KW capacity, but the company has already presold 70% of the 5,000 units it was planning to produce next year, and is already thinking about increasing production. It originally planned to double production to 10,000 units in 2000, but those numbers may also change.

Recently the company signed its fifth joint venture to distribute the TurboGeneratorO, neatly divvying up the North American continent for major marketing efforts with innovative competitive marketers.

Last week AlliedSignal completed its North American marketing map by signing a joint venture distributorship with New Energy Ventures of Los Angeles, CA, to market the system in 14 Western and Rocky Mountain states. New Energy Ventures president, Michael R. Peevey, launched the company in 1997 after serving as president of Southern California Edison.

The Midwest will be covered by Unicom, the parent of Commonwealth Edison, the largest regulated utility in Illinois. Sonat Power Systems, one of nine members of the Distributed Power Coalition of America, will cover the Southeast market.

The western Canadian provinces will be served by Calgary-based Mercury Electric, which was instrumental in promoting independent power in Western Canada.

Energis Resources will have exclusive rights to the Northeast territory, where energy costs are highest in the nation. The territory includes New England and some mid-Atlantic states, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec, the maritime Provinces and the country of Argentina. AlliedSignal says it will also sell globally, into markets like China and India, and other regions experiencing significant increases in demand for power.

Other joint ventures include one with Honeywell, which will be the “exclusive authorized service provider” of the TurboGeneratorO, and another with Visteon Automotive Systems, which will venture outside the automotive industry in Dearborn, Michigan, to produce the electronics that will operate the generator.

The gas-fired turbine, with only one moving part, is considered an ideal application for convenience stores, restaurants, health clubs, hotels, schools and small factories with electricity demands between 40 and 500 KW. The modular units can be ganged together to handle larger loads or demand growth. The system is based on a single air foil shaft (with no oil lubrication) on which the compressor, turbine and generator are mounted. The design allows greater reliability, quieter operations and reduced maintenance costs.

Sarah McKinley

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