Power of Hydrogen

Fuel Cells are devices that turn a fuel such as natural gas or methane into electricity by way of a chemical reaction; rather than by combustion. The process strips the hydrogen from the fuel and combines the hydrogen with oxygen through reaction with a chemical catalyst. Consequently, the by-products from the process are extremely clean and include water and heat.

If a fuel cell plant uses naturally-occurring methane such as from a landfill, it would be considered a renewable energy source. However, most sources of methane are insufficient to run utility-scale fuel cell plants economically. Therefore, it is most likely the Company would site and design fuel cell plants around sources of natural gas. The power generated from such a facility would be considered clean power, rather than renewable, in most states. Still, there are currently five states that consider this type of power generation as “renewable”.

One key advantage to using fuel cells is the “base-load” nature of the facility. This means that the electricity from such a facility is very reliably available and can be generated at almost any time. Additionally, fuel cell plants are extremely quiet and compact, and can thus be placed in dense areas such as urban settings, not normally conducive to renewable energy.

This base load nature, and the clean energy provided by fuel cells thus fits into the strategy of the Company and is attractive both as stand-alone projects and in conjunction with the wind and solar technologies as supplemental power. Furthermore, many states have specific programs designed to support and foster fuel cell technologies.