Clean power for the cities

Fuel-cell power plants, which have successfully demonstrated that they can provide efficient, non-polluting power and require only a short lead time for construction, may not be an available option unless funds are provided to back commercializaion. The author summarizes the fuel-cell concept and outlines the opportunities for commercial application. The benefits of fuel-cell power plants include a higher and wider range of conversion efficiency, fuel conservation, rejected heat appropriate for cogeneration, and no emissions to cause siting problems. Most components can be factory-produced modules to shorten the lag time to about 24 months. The first fuel-cell plants, projected to cost about $1,500 per kilowatt but declining to $330-600 for later units, make financing difficult and will probably require a joint effort by government and utilities.