Talk about an exotic credit. Wonder who is going to cash in on this? First the Tax Credit.

Not there silly – here>

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits#s5

Fuel Cells

Residential Fuel Cell and microturbine system

Efficiency of at least 30% and must have a capacity of at least 0.5 kW.

30% of the cost, up to $500 per .5 kW of power capacity

Use IRS Form 5695 Must be placed in service before December 31, 2016.

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Then the product

Acumentrics’ AHEAD: Residential Fuel Cell Heat & Power System

Think AHEAD:
Distributed Power Generation for Homeowners

Imagine a furnace that makes electricity, too. The Acumentrics AHEAD (click on link for specifications) is just that. The AHEAD uses fuel cells to generate heat and power for the home, with peak demands being handled by the grid or batteries. It runs off municipal gas or propane. This combined-heat-and-power unit (micro-CHP) can even meter excess electricity back to the grid. On-site generation has never been more clean, quiet, or secure.

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Or here…but this is all very experimental:

http://blog.fuelcellstore.com/?cat=7

http://www.cfcl.com.au/

Welcome to CFCL

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited

There is growing demand for energy across the globe. Demand for electricity is forecast to double from 2002 to 2025. Yet the existing supplies may not cope with this demand, and significant investment is needed in new generation systems that also meet higher efficiency and environmental standards.

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL) is providing solutions.

CFCL is a world leader in developing solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology to provide reliable, energy efficient, high quality, and low-emission electricity from widely available natural gas and renewable fuels. CFCL is developing SOFC products for small-scale on-site micro combined heat and power (m-CHP) and distributed generation units that co-generate electricity and heat for domestic use

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Then there are microturbines:

http://www.energy.ca.gov/distgen/equipment/microturbines/microturbines.html

Microturbines are small combustion turbines that produce between 25 kW and 500 kW of power. Microturbines were derived from turbocharger technologies found in large trucks or the turbines in aircraft auxiliary power units (APUs). Most microturbines are single-stage, radial flow devices with high rotating speeds of 90,000 to 120,000 revolutions per minute. However, a few manufacturers have developed alternative systems with multiple stages and/or lower rotation speeds. Microturbines are nearing commercial status. Capstone, for example, has delivered over 2,400 microturbines to customers (2003). However, many of the microturbine installations are still undergoing field tests or are part of large-scale demonstrations.

Photo Source: Capstone

Microturbine generators can be divided in two general classes:

• Recuperated microturbines, which recover the heat from the exhaust gas to boost the temperature of combustion and increase the efficiency, and
• Unrecuperated (or simple cycle) microturbines, which have lower efficiencies, but also lower capital costs.

While some early product introductions have featured unrecuperated designs, the bulk of developers’ efforts are focused on recuperated systems. The recuperator recovers heat from the exhaust gas in order to boost the temperature of the air stream supplied to the combustor. Further exhaust heat recovery can be used in a cogeneration configuration. The figure below illustrates a recuperated microturbine system.

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Wave of the future or dumb tax give away…you be the judge.

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