I've wondered for awhile why you couldn't combine fuel cells with
solar. Use the solar to create hydrogen for storage (instead of
feeding batteries) and then run the hydrogen through a fuel cell when
needed to create electricity or to supplement the solar.
Mike
Mike Wolfson
Ashland, Ohio USA
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
This message sent by smoke and mirrors.
----------
: From: Jeff Owens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
: To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
: Subject: [ecopath] Re: Fuel cells
: Date: Thursday, September 21, 2000 10:52 AM
:
: Don wrote:
: >The site gives no clue on its cost but it does look interesting.
: > http://www.gemicrogen.com/homegen_prod_desc.html
:
: It looks like GE is serious about trying to turn fuel cells into
: a product. This would be a first but i suspect it is still
: a preliminary market test. They will have the same problems
: the other alternative energy systems face:
: 1. connecting to the grid. Most local power
: companies make this difficult.
: 2. Home users are not comfortable with power
: systems that appear complicated.
:
: Then there is cost. I'll bet a fuel cell based power system
: can not compete with a solar system. Just look at the
manufacturing
: and ongoing costs. A solar system does not need the natural gas
: connection, it is reliable, has almost no maintenance, and has
: a theoretical life of more than 50 years. You can expand and
: modify solar power systems as needed and overall they are much
: better for the environment. The cost of solar systems are still
: going down and are expected to get much lower. Plus, it has
: become a large industry with lots of manufactures.
:
: jeff
