"Chicago Area Homeowners to Test Residential Fuel Cells"--EPRI, 5/10/01...
epri.com
"Fuel Cells At Los Alamos"
lanl.gov
"Power to the People"
technologyreview.com
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Rearranged for ease of reading.
>>>News Releases
Chicago Area Homeowners to Test Residential Fuel Cells
May 10, 2001
Palo Alto, Calif.—Several Chicago-area families will soon produce their own electric power in a pilot project to assess the technical, economic, and environmental benefits of using small residential fuel cell generating systems.
The pre-commercial units, designed for single and multi-family dwellings, will be installed by the Community Energy Cooperative and EPRIsolutions, a subsidiary of the Electric Power Research Institute.
"Fuel cell technology offers the potential for clean, reliable, and environmentally-preferred solutions to communities," says Kathryn Tholin, Cooperative General Manager.
"This pilot complements the Cooperative's initiative with ComEd in the areas of energy efficiency, energy management, and community participation in energy solutions."
Fuel cell power systems convert natural gas fuel directly into high quality power.
... Instead of burning the fuel, the cells extract energy by using a chemical reaction, joining hydrogen from the fuel with oxygen from the air to produce water, and in the process releasing electrical energy.
... The furnace-sized units, which can produce three-to-seven kilowatts of electricity, could become a practical reality within about two years, according to Dan Rastler, EPRIsolutions' area manager for distributed resources.
"We hope to work with as many of the leading fuel cell manufacturers as possible to showcase their units," Rastler said. "EPRIsolutions has issued an RFP on the project, and energy companies and other cities interested in participating in the development of fuel cell power systems are invited to join the Cooperative/EPRIsolutions collaborative initiative."
The pilot project will include the development of as many as five fuel cell systems and will involve procurement, baseline testing, installation, interconnection, and test monitoring.
EPRIsolutions will provide technical management and test monitoring support as well as educational material that explains the operation, environmental benefits, and energy features of the technology.
For technical information, Contact
... Dan Rastler, EPRIsolutions, at (650) 855-2521, e-mail drastler@epri.com or
... MaurieGamze, Energy Cooperative, at (773) 486-7600 ext. 127, maurie@energycooperative.net.
According to Rastler, the test, which will begin in the fourth quarter of 2001, is a step toward decentralized mini-grids where communities might be partially served by residential size or larger distributed resources.
About Community Energy Cooperative.
The community Energy Cooperative is a membership organization developing community-based initiatives to reduce electric demand and lower energy costs for residents and businesses.
The Cooperative, with support from ComEd, developed load management, energy efficiency, and distributed generation programs in four Chicago-area communities.
The Cooperative was established by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a Chicago-based non-profit organization that helps build prosperous, sustainable communities by linking economic and community development with ecological improvement.
Visit the Cooperative website at energycooperative.net.
About EPRIsolutions.
EPRIsolutions, a subsidiary of EPRI, the collaborative science and technology organization for the power industry, provides consulting services, field test evaluations, and privately-sponsored initiatives to help clients understand technology readiness and facilitate the development of market-entry products.
Visit the EPRI website at epri.com.
For more information about EPRI's technology development programs, visit the EPRI Destinations website.
Contact Christine Hopf-Lovette, EPRI (650) 855-2733 chopf@epri.com <<< |
