FuelCellsWorks

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) was in Torrington today to tour FuelCell Energy and unveil his plan to promote the use of fuel cells in both homes and businesses. Dodd’s fuel cell plan not only has the potential to create new jobs in Connecticut and across America, but will promote the use of a 21st-century, clean energy resource.

“Connecticut is already a world leader in the production of fuel cells, which reduce consumption of fossil fuels, cut carbon emissions, and save on energy costs by generating power on-site, within the fuel cell unit,” said Dodd, who was joined on the tour by FuelCell Energy CEO Daniel Brdar. “We need to grow the market for these energy-efficient products. If we can create that demand, we can create new jobs today, and a new industry that can power not just homes and businesses, but a new era of Connecticut prosperity.”

Dodd is proposing a three-step plan to kickstart the state’s fuel cell industry and put Connecticut back to work. First, it aims to jump start Connecticut’s fuel cell industry by creating immediate demand for fuel cells – and immediate jobs – by encouraging the federal government to lead the transition to clean energy and fully invest in opportunities where fuel cells can be utilized.

Second, it increases the investment tax credit for fuel cells, encouraging businesses to heat and power their facilities with highly-efficient, Connecticut-built systems. Finally, Dodd’s plan sets an ambitious goal for the residential use of fuel cells – and provides manufacturers and consumers with incentives to meet it.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman David Wu joined Oregon clean energy leaders today to discuss the benefits that locally produced combined heat and power fuel cells are providing to our region’s economy.

Hillsboro’s Ronler Acres Fire Station is using a fuel cell manufactured less than a half mile away by ClearEdge Power to simultaneously reduce carbon emissions and operating costs, saving taxpayers money and helping protect our environment.

“Oregon is once again leading the way toward a more sustainable future,” said Congressman David Wu.  “The next-generation design of fuel cell technology recently installed at Hillsboro’s fire station replaces an older fuel cell unit, keeping our first responders on the front lines of clean energy users.”

The fire station expects to use all the heat and electricity from the fuel cell, reducing the station’s carbon emissions by 12 tons per year.  In addition, operating costs will be lower due to the high 90 percent energy efficiency of the unit.

“The newest high-efficiency fuel cells show how this technology has evolved,” said John Rinier, Hillsboro fire marshal.  “In addition to providing power to our fire station, the fuel cell will also provide heat.  This energy source is another example of Hillsboro’s commitment to finding more sustainable ways of doing business.”

Both generations of fuel cells were produced by ClearEdge Power, a local economic success story that has expanded significantly in the past three years, increasing the number of Oregon jobs from 15 in 2007 to more than 120 today.

“ClearEdge Power is proud to offer a viable, long-term component for the green energy value system,” said Russell Ford, President and CEO of ClearEdge Power.  “The launch of our ClearEdge5 high-efficiency fuel cell offers locally generated heat and power at the point of use, and our market entry is creating local jobs in Oregon, California, and across our supply chain.”

Congressman Wu has introduced legislation that would help additional people reap the benefits of fuel cell technology and create local jobs by more fairly applying clean energy tax credits now available for other energy sources like wind and solar.  The bipartisan Fuel Cell Tax Parity Act, H.R. 3660, fixes the U.S. tax code so that it treats both residential and commercial uses of fuel cells equally.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act raised the tax credit cap on commercially deployed fuel cell units to $1,500 per 0.5 kilowatt (kW) of capacity, but it left the residential cap at $500 per 0.5 kilowatt (kW) of capacity. This means that any families who want to install a fuel cell at their homes get a third the tax credit of businesses that use this technology.

At the same time, the recovery act totally removed the caps for solar, small wind, and geothermal units, exacerbating the existing tax disparity between fuel cells and other clean energy sources, which are treated the same regardless of whether they are for commercial or residential use.

By making residential fuel cells eligible for a tax credit worth $1,500 per 0.5 kilowatt (kW) of capacity, Congressman Wu’s legislation will level the playing field between residential and commercial uses, while helping close the gap between fuel cells and other clean energy technologies.

“Fuel cells can provide families with both heat and power from a clean, efficient energy source,” said Congressman Wu.  “My legislation will help expand the use of this cutting-edge technology, in turn creating more jobs in our community.”

“Through Congressman Wu’s proposed federal legislation, Americans would benefit from fair tax treatment for residential fuel cell use, similar to the tax credits currently available to solar customers,” said Russell Ford.  “This would positively impact our communities now and into the future.”

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) helped make it financially viable for the Hillsboro fire station to implement this new clean energy technology.

“As the Pacific Northwest’s largest electricity supplier, BPA supports developing new technologies to help meet the region’s growing demand for energy with clean, cost-effective power,” said BPA Acting Deputy Administrator Allen Burns.  “BPA is proud to support ClearEdge Power’s innovative work on fuel cells, and we believe this technology also could help address climate change issues and enhance energy independence.”

Developer Bruce Becker’s 360 State Street in downtown New Haven could be the first residential building to earn LEED Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. (Becker & Becker)

Bruce Becker has tried to do the right thing. That may have been his mistake.
Becker is the developer of nearly completed 360 State Street, a 32-story, 500-unit apartment building in New Haven. The building, which will contain retail space and enclosed parking for 500 cars, is one of the largest residential buildings ever built in the state.

I have been following this project, in part to see if Becker is able to attain his goal of making it one of the state’s greenest buildings as well. He’s trying to make his the state’s first residential building to achieve LEED Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The state isn’t making it easy.

In addition to numerous other energy-saving technologies, Becker hopes to power the building with a 400-kilowatt fuel cell made by UTC Power of South Windsor. He has been promised a $900,000 grant from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund to cover slightly more than half the cost of the power-generating device.

To pay for the rest, and to maintain the fuel cell, Becker in 2007 proposed an arrangement called “sub-metering,” meaning the building would have one “master meter” for United Illuminating, the local utility, and all the tenants would have individual “sub meters.” UI would support the project by buying excess power and providing additional power at times of peak demand. Or so the theory went.

This is done in New York and other some other states, but has only been allowed in Connecticut in limited areas, such as marinas and campgrounds. Without recounting a complex legal argument, the state Department of Public Utility Control turned him down in late 2008, saying current law didn’t allow it.

Early last year, Becker met with members of the Clean Energy Fund, who suggested another approach: State law does allow electric co-ops. The statute says in part that “cooperative, nonprofit, membership corporations may be organized … for the purpose of generating electric energy by means of … renewable energy resources.”

Read Entire Story Here

Written by Kimberly Donnelly

The town received good news a few weeks ago when the state Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) issued a draft of a declaratory ruling allowing the town to aggregate electric consumption at the high school and middle school and to apply that net amount against electricity generated by a fuel cell the town wants to install at the middle school.

This week, however, the news was not so good.

First Selectman Gayle Weinstein said Monday that United Illuminating (UI) and Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) had filed exceptions to the declaratory ruling.

Their main concern, the first selectman explained, is that the ruling is too broad, and that it might set a precedent that could allow chain stores and others to aggregate their consumption when calculating energy usage.

The town asked the DPUC for a declaratory ruling allowing the town to combine its energy usage at the middle and high schools by simple accounting (adding the two accounts together) rather than physically connecting the two meters, which is estimated to cost at least $900,000.

The DPUC’s ruling stated not only could the town combine usage numbers at the two schools, but it could also include electricity delivered to other town buildings in calculating how much electricity is used.

Weston has asked United Technologies to build and install a 400-kW fuel cell at or near the middle school. It is estimated the fuel cell would provide 95% of the electricity needed for both Weston High School and Weston Middle School, all of the heat for the pool at the middle school, a significant amount of the heat and hot water for the middle school, and all of the air conditioning for the middle school.

There’s a “huge push” from the state and federal governments to move toward clean energy and energy conservation, Ms. Weinstein said, and “what we’re trying to do is 100% in line with that… The question for us is: Is it going to cost an extra $1 million?”

Editor’s Note: This is a corrected version of the print story that appears in the Feb. 25 issue of The Weston Forum, which stated First Selectman Weinstein made oral arguments to the DPC on Tuesday; that appearance was in fact rescheduled.

Original Story Here