The bottom line is that I think a 100 kW generator would not be adequate for 100 houses, unless it was tied into the power company distribution network, so that the 100 houses could borrow electricity during demand surges, and sell electricity back during quiet periods. This is what many rooftop PV arrays do, on a smaller scale.
With 100 kW tied into the network, the 100 house would end up paying very little to the electric power company. The power company buys electricity at a lower cost than they sell it for. That's only fair, it seems to me. A fishmonger buys buys at a low cost and sells at a higher cost. If we had millions of these Bloom fuel cell gadgets in use, the power company would be mainly in the distribution business, as a broker you might say. This reduces the cost of privately owned generators, and ensures reliability and availability when the generators need maintenance. Private generation and co-generation is increasing in the U.S. and Japan, with the excess power being sold through the power company. The power company is already functioning as a broker. - Jed
