UGI Fuels Energy Systems Manufacturer Martin Energy Group

As demand for on-site power grows, Martin Energy Group is growing with it, and at its new Ephrata facility in Lancaster County, UGI natural gas is giving the company the energy to do more.

“Without natural gas, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do,” says Wendell Martin, marketing sales representative for Martin Energy Group and grandson of the company’s founder, Harlan Martin.

The company designs, manufactures, and services energy systems, including microgrids, generator sets, combined heat and power (CHP), battery energy storage, and renewable natural gas systems. Founded in Lancaster County in 1976 and now headquartered in Missouri, Martin Energy Group moved its Ephrata operations this year to a larger facility to keep pace with demand.

The new facility is where CHP units will be assembled and tested before delivery, and that’s where the need for more natural gas comes in. UGI is installing a larger pipeline to meet that increased demand.

“We need more gas to run this large production facility and also to test the CHP units we make,” says Martin. “More gas means we can do large load tests on our units to make sure they are ready for our customers.”

One of those customers is Mohegan Pennsylvania in Wilkes-Barre, where a CHP system built and installed by Martin Energy Group and fueled by UGI provides reliable, efficient heat and power while reducing energy use and emissions.

“We’re not only a customer of UGI that relies on its natural gas service, we’re also a partner,” says Martin. “We build the on-site energy systems, and in Pennsylvania, UGI natural gas fuels some of them.”

Fifty years after Harlan Martin started out refurbishing and selling generators, Martin Energy Group is now a global energy force, delivering innovative energy solutions around the world.

What is CHP? CHP systems make electricity and heat at the same time from one fuel source, often natural gas. CHP systems can be up to 80% efficient, compared to about 45% when power and heat are made separately.

Learn more at https://www.ugi.com/gas-for-business/natural-gas-innovation/combined-heating-power/.