Western energy crunch gives fuel cells a boost

BOISE -- Solar power and other renewable energy took on a Woodstock-era image in the public's mind when the nation's power crisis subsided by the early 1980s.

But Northwest consumers are worried all over again in the face of California's rolling blackouts and a drought year causing their electrical costs -- the nation's lowest -- to climb exponentially.

Today, fuel cells could represent a declaration of independence for every person faced with exorbitant home-heating and vehicular fuel prices.

"Things are so interconnected no one is immune from the other guy's energy problems," said Bob Rose, executive director of the U.S. Fuel Cell Council trade organization in Washington, D.C. "One of the great things about a fuel cell is it promises an abundance of energy and energy under our control."

Welsh-born Sir William Grove is considered the father of the fuel cell. In 1839, he surmised that just as electrolysis splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, combining the gases would create water and electricity. Fuel cells eventually were created and have been used on NASA missions for decades.

The apparatus looks like a microwave and acts similar to a battery. Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, is introduced to an anode and oxygen as air to a cathode. The end results are electricity, heat and a little water. The DC power then can be converted to AC for home use.

Since the cell relies on chemistry and not combustion, it emits a minute amount of pollutants.

Fuel cells already are at work providing essential power for special applications such as microwave relay stations or hospitals.

In 1996, IdaTech of Bend, Ore., started developing systems for commercial and residential use.

IdaTech's majority stockholder is IDACORP, the holding company of Boise-based Idaho Power Co. Ida

Tech also contracted with the Bonneville Power Administration to build and test 110 fuel cells systems in the West.

Development of an alternative power source would seem at odds with the hydroelectric giant's fortunes.

But Jack Robertson, then-Bonneville Power deputy director, supported fuel cells as a partial answer to future energy problems. He estimated that if as few as 10 percent of American homes used fuel cells, the country could avoid 200 new coal-fired power plants.

IdaTech is creating a 3-kilowatt residential system and a 1-kilowatt device for things like camping. Another project is a "reformer," a device that converts common fuels such as natural gas or propane into pure hydrogen for the cell. IdaTech is concentrating on methanol.

The company is working out the glitches because fuel cells must work well before they are sold to the public.

"If you're going to put a fuel cell into a home as a primary source of power, it has to run 9,000 hours per year," said Gordon Gregory, IdaTech market research and communications director.

"It must do that year after year without fail and you must be able to warranty its use. We think the technology has some distance to go to be dependable and run for thousands of hours.

"Our plans call for offering a residential sysstem in 2003. A lot of things have to happen," he said. "We think it's doable."

IdaTech believes the heat from the fuel cell can be used to warm water. Gregory said conventional water heaters can reprsent 30 percent of the monthly power bill.

"We do believe they have to be affordable," he said, although he did not quote a price.

Fuel cells could be combined with solar technology to fully power a home. Solar panels could supply electricity during the day and fuel cells would kick in at night or during the winter months.

"The challenge for our company and others is to find those niches where it makes sense." Gregory said. "It's going to have a very limited use, but as the cost comes down, the use will spread. You get higher performance and eventually have a much more affordable system."

Car manufacturers are working on dozens of prototype vehicles running on fuel cells. DaimlerChrysler AG produced the world's first fuel cell-powered buses for testing in European cities.

Cell owners would still have to pay for the fuel, but they would have a choice between common sources. Eventually, pure hydrogen could become readily available on the market.

"It's that flexibility that gives hope on the long term and moves us away from fossil fuels," Rose said.

Perhaps the most unnerving part of the current energy crisis is that irregardless of the escalating costs of power, the West simply cannot generate enough to supply everyone all the time.

"Price is not so much an issue as security of supply," Rose said. "The most expensive kilowatt of energy is one I can't get."