AGROCAM, a poultry hatchery in the central African region, has purchased one of GE’s Jenbacher J316 gas engines from Clarke Energy, GE’s distributor of Jenbacher gas engines in Cameroon, to address long-term power outages, which have a great impact on poultry breeding in Cameroon.

Given the critical nature of poultry hatcheries, a half-hour power outage can completely cripple a business, leading to a complete overhaul of the hatchery installations—since all eggs in the incubator would perish as a result of improper storage temperature control and ventilation, the company said.

To help meet the demand for alternative energy supply to stabilize and rebuild, AGROCAM previously used a diesel generator for backup to the grid to ensure routine operation of its hatchery, which proved to be costly given the prolonged hours of grid power outages in addition to the environmental pollution associated with diesel generators.

“More than ever before, AGROCAM believes that a stable, reliable and cost-effective source of power is crucial to revive the poultry business in Cameroon, which suffered a big hit from the 2016 avian influenza (or bird flu) outbreak that paralyzed poultry farmers in Douala and the surrounding areas. Energy currently represents 50 percent of our operational costs,” said Noutchogouin Jean Samuel, board chairman, AGROCAM.

GE’s Jenbacher J316 gas engine will produce 813 kW. Heat will be recovered from the exhaust gases of the generator in the form of hot air and will be injected into the ovens of the egg tray production machines for drying. This will save the cost of fuel currently burned for drying and therefore, it will increase the efficiency and allow for the optimum use of the gas generator, the company said.

“GE’s natural gas-fired Jenbacher gas engine will produce a nominal electrical output to power the hatchery and egg tray production facility, providing a highly efficient, economical solution to meet our needs and realize substantial annual savings,” said Noutchogouin Philippe, managing director, AGROCAM.

“The technical maturity and high degree of reliability of GE’s Jenbacher Type 3 gas engines make them a leader in their range. Long service intervals, a maintenance-friendly engine design and low fuel consumption ensure a high operating efficiency, while enhanced components prolong service life,” said Ali Hjaiej, business development director—Africa, Clarke Energy. “As AGROCAM battles local power outages from Cameroon’s unstable grid, GE’s proven, cost-effective, Jenbacher gas engine technology provides AGROCAM with a solution to help meet the growing energy needs of the region while increasing the efficiency and reliability of the customer’s grid.”