1 Megawatt Fuel Cell Power Plant

August 29, 2008 by
Filed under: Hydrogen Fuel Cell 

This is a video of a 1 megawatt Fuel Cell Power Plant at California State University, Northridge, in Los Angeles, CA. The power plant has a reformer that separates hydrogen from natural gas and then feeds the hydrogen into a fuel cell, generating electricity. The plant also recovers the heat generated and uses it for domestic heating on campus. In the future, some of the carbon emitted will be sequestered in a sub-tropical rainforest that is under construction.

While at present this power plant still uses fossil fuels (the natural gas is needed in order to extract the hydrogen from it), in the future the hydrogen will be generated either from landfill gas, or else it will be electrolyzed using wind, solar, geothermal, wave or hydroelectric energy. What is most important and exciting about this plant is the fact that it is using fuel cells–touted to be the future of electricity generation–today, and they are working seamlessly on a large scale.

For more information, go to andyposner.org/videofuelcell

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Comments

26 Comments on 1 Megawatt Fuel Cell Power Plant

  1. mulukchuwen on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    2. It’s a wonder if your avg “home-owner” even knows what he’s buying into? wait a minute. don’t answer that.

  2. kerpal2343 on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    3. Steam reforming
    He mentioned that heat, and g, if he just dumped some water in there, it may just prove to be some interesting results:

    Commercial bulk hydrogen is usually produced by the steam reforming of natural gas. At high temperatures (700–1100 °C), steam (H2O) reacts with methane (CH4) to yield syngas.

    CH4 + H2O → CO + 3 H2 – 191.7 kJ/mol
    I’m not sure what temp H20 turns to HH O but I believe I’ve heard about 800..

  3. Darkfoster22 on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    4. Y its many years from now? We need better ways of getting lots of Hydrogen.Y? 99% of hydrogen we get today produce Co2.So whats the point.There looking for ways to produce Hydrogen with out free up Co2.

  4. winvistainfo on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    5. There is no such thing as free energy. You can make hydrogen from water – but that electricity needs to come from somewhere. You can’t produce hydrogen with electricity to use to make electricity. Actually, you can, but only at 40% efficiency, which is a complete waste and pointless.

  5. owtzzz on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    6. no good. we want to get away from fossel fuels not embrace it.

  6. owtzzz on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    7. Chernobyl could never happen on a Western reactor. ? you kidding andyplace. you think god owns the nuclear power plants in the west:)/ accidents are not limited to communist countries. It’s wild that these guys could make such use of hydrogen but cannot plice the tape or narrate it outside the plant without the racket. ;PLEASE give us some credit.

  7. dillj34555 on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    8. In order to use fuel cells, you must first aquire Hydrogen. They specified using landfill gas and electrolisis as future sources of hydrogen. I would advocate using landfill gas as using electrolisis would require more energy than you would get out of it, energy that could be put directly into the power grid.

  8. noriordan on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    9. The people that control the energy market need a system that allows them to CHARGE people for energy (be that oil, electricity, gas, solar, wind, tidal, or any other generating process). We CAN produce H from water. This process could be next-to-free to everyone. The PROBLEM in a capitalist system is that this IS FREE(or nearly). WE CAN GET THIS ENERGY FOR FREE!!!!!!! JESUS CHRIST THIS IS DRIVING ME MAD.

    the system of capitalism is only 150yr old and look how it’s fucked EARTH

  9. googleproads on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    10. For a full electronics system for your sell see ebay item 250264427981

  10. winvistainfo on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    11. They aready have a source for hydrogen. They have a fuel reformer that takes in natural gas and strips off the hydrogen to use as fuel.

  11. bigbirdtwothoueight on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    12. the enegy produced could be used to create any of the carrying mediums such as hydrogen from electrolysis, hydrocarbons from hydrogenation of coal under the old German patent, or the use of electric motors.

    I found at the time that this type of hydro electric generation would be sufficient to power the continental “U S” in in its entirety with the erection of 50 such unit strategically located around the seaboard of the country.

  12. bigbirdtwothoueight on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    13. continued, the system is faultless and the cost per kilowatt is extremely low when you consider the cost of the original capital versus the power generated from the system.

    My calculation at the time was such that every city bordering the ocean say like New york, would be served by a series of barges that would only occupy 50 acres of the ocean in some circumspect but well studied area.
    The numbers are staggering but heap oil made the whole idea useless at the time.

  13. bigbirdtwothoueight on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    14. My favorite is Hydro electric because you get to use 18th century technology to generated electricity with the new materials available. I put together a system in 1964 while at Hardwicke Chemical co. The system comprised of a series of barges that would be installed into towers erected in the ocean that would utilize the wave motion to power hydrolic pumps that would turn turbines that would produce electricity…..

  14. bigbirdtwothoueight on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    15. i have read all the mail concerning this issue of producing Hydrogen from water through electrolysis. It is evident that you need a whole lot of electric enegy to get hydrogen. electricity is not cheap and will be more and more expensive in the future.
    We will need more power generated by either wind,direct photocell and hydro electric.

  15. jclabart on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    16. nice and politicaly correct… hydrogen…made from gaz!
    NO NO NO, use the sewage water to make your hydrogen and stop the hypocrisis…

  16. andyplace on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    17. Chernobyl could never happen on a Western reactor.

  17. magitronic12 on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    18. buddy how much energy in KWh does it produce in the whole year???

  18. txgiorgi on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    19. It takes electricity to crack water.

  19. sunnynaire on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    20. Just crack the water and you have HOH (brown gas)for fuel and it burns clean. Why Nuclear? Which is more dangerous to operate and which one that produce no waste?

  20. wiwwynils on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    21. nuclear would be good if there wasnt the minor problem of a massively toxic waste and the posability of another Chernobyl… hydrogen is the answer, along with solar and wind and such

  21. txgiorgi on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    22. The people that propose the solution are the problem. Nuclear is the answer. It alway’s has been. Because of the opposition we have not built any new plants and Coal is the most nasty
    thing. To bad 50% of power comes from coal.

  22. aeroscope on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    23. This plant is highly un practical until u find a efficient way to produce pure hydrogen. however, i m impressed by the size of the powerplant.
    suggestion: why know use the 750degree exhaust to fire up another generator to produce even more electricity.

  23. gtj126 on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    24. $ 100,000 for 600,000 BTUh would be in WINTER ALONE in N Ohio, NY etc

    175 kwh CONTINUOUSLY on 20-25 degree days
    NET NET NET usable 175 KWH in Heating Energy

    and
    Pre-Cools fresh air entering a facility
    which ups thw kw NET comparrison significantly vs r410 a and other refrigerant cooling

  24. gtj126 on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    25. Fla Heat Pump job in icf WALLS,
    CENTRALIZED PUMPING… 34MBh / 10KWH /sq ft / school year..
    now

    HYDRO-TEMP COM de-centralized pumping…

    YOU CAN STUDY HOW WE ARE DOWN TO ~8KWH
    OR 27 mbH OER SQ FT PER SCHOOL YEAR
    2 kwh / sq ft : hydro-temp,com

    HORIZONTALLY:
    FOR UNDER $ 100,000
    BUILDINGS USE A 1HP PUMP HYBRID
    TO DIRECT COOLING AND HEATING AIR GOING INSIDE
    OVER 600MBh at 20-25 dF days and pre cools too! call your driller !

  25. pi3573 on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:21 pm

    26. what in the hell are talking about!(bullshit?)
    youmean Bushit lol

  26. Josh Maxwell on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 1:31 pm

    27. I finally decided to write a comment on your blog. I just wanted to say good job. I really enjoy reading your posts.

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