Another pollution prevention advantage is the elimination of hazardous and/or controlled waste generated by the operation and maintenance of combustion chamber generators. The electrochemical process is also highly efficient, quiet, reliable, requires little maintenance, and co-generates a hot water stream that can be used for many industrial purposes.

NGFC units operate electrochemically; extracting hydrogen ions from methane in natural gas via an exothermic reaction to create a DC electric potential and producing 140° F hot water as a byproduct. Solid-state electronics convert the DC energy into AC current.

Fuel Cells can operate with a variety of fuel sources, including natural gas, methanol, ethanol, landfill methane, coal gas, biogas, propane, gasoline and pure hydrogen. There are five main types of fuel cells:

• Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs)
• Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs)
• Proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells
• Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs)
• Direct methanol fuel cell

PAFCs are the most mature fuel cell technology and are now commercially available. MCFCs and SOFCs are considered the next generation of fuel cells, with higher efficiencies and lower capital costs. The PEM and direct methanol fuel cells are being developed for use in mobile sources, particularly in the automobile industry.

Fuel cells can provide high quality power for a variety of uses. The fuel cell technology can save energy and power generation costs due to the high efficiency of the electrochemical process and by using low cost natural gas. Additionally, savings are generated by the production of supplemental heat, available in the form of hot water that can be applied to other industrial applications.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) initiated the Fuel Cell Demonstration Program (FCDP) to determine the viability of the use of the natural gas fuel cell technology (particularly PAFCs) for DoD facilities and applications, as well as the role of fuel cells in the DoD's long-term energy strategy. The U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (USACERL) was assigned the mission of managing the FCDP for the DoD. The program's goal was to develop the criteria necessary to evaluate the technology along with developing and implementing PAFC packages for DoD demonstration sites. Since 1993, DoD has appropriated $36.75 million dollars to the program.

Since 1995, under the FCPD, DoD has installed 30 stationary 200-kilowatt fuel cells at bases around the country. Heat from the fuel cells is used for boilers, domestic hot water, space heating, and process hot water. As of January 1999, the 30 fuel cells had saved a combined total of $2,704,711 in energy costs and abated 16,094 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), 280 tons of sulfur oxides (SOx), 129 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 11 tons of carbon monoxide (CO).

The technology can be used wherever electrical power is required. Examples of sites and applications included under the DoD FCDP program include;

• Hospitals MCB Camp Pendleton, CA
• Central heating plants NETC Newport, RI
• Galleys NAS Fallon, NV
• Dormitories USNA Annapolis, MD
• Administration facilities NAVO Stennis Space Center, MS
• Swimming pools NCBC Port Hueneme, CA

CERL maintains a web site that contains a wealth of detailed information on fuel cell technology, the FCDP, the DoD installations, and many other resources for information on fuel cell technology and its implementation. This is the most comprehensive resource for information for DoD facilities interested in implementing fuel cell technology.

Although the fuel cell provides many advantages over combustion based power generation, the main barrier to widespread use is their cost. Although commercially available, PAFCs are still very expensive and the potential savings is dependent on many site- specific factors.

There are two programs currently in place that provide vehicles to potentially offset some of the costs associated with implementation of fuel cell technology. The Climate Change Fuel Cell Program is a DoD-funded program that provides grants to nonfederal agencies and organizations to install fuel cells. These grants can be used to offset some of the cost for implementation of the technology, thus giving facilities additional incentive to pursue this alternative.

The Air Emissions Reduction Credit Program allows DoD facilities to earn revenue from the sale or lease of air emission credits generated by reduction of air emissions below allowable levels. The revenue generated can be used for environmental programs, including the cost of implementing an emission reducing technology. For further information on the Air Emission Reduction Credit Program, consult the P2 Handbook.

The replacement of the combustion generators with fuel cells reduces the generation of hazardous waste (generator lubricants and maintenance chemicals) regulated under RCRA.

The compliance benefits listed here are only meant to be used as a general guideline and are not meant to be strictly interpreted. Actual compliance benefits will vary depending on the factors involved, e.g. the amount of workload involved.

• More efficient than combustion technologies and,  therefore, produces a cost savings for power generation.
• Reduces or eliminates air emissions contributing to greenhouse gases.
• Modular construction can be easily scaled up or down in size.
• Distributed power generation reduces transmission losses.
• Can be used for cogeneration of heat and power.
• Can use a variety of fuels.
• Reduces hazardous and controlled wastes generated by traditional combustion generators.
• Lower maintenance costs.

Savings are estimated at $50,000 to 60,000 per year in power generation costs, although those savings are dependent on the natural gas price differential. Additional savings are realized with heat recovery and are estimated at approximately $50,000 to $100,000 annually, depending on the application. Fuel cells require less maintenance than generators, which provides for approximately an additional $20,000 per year savings.

These numbers indicated above are estimated and the factors contributing to costs and savings at an individual site and application can vary dramatically. However, the payback period is thought to be very close to a 10-year simple payback.

Readers are encouraged to review the more detailed cost and economic analysis data for the specific sites and applications that are provided at the DoD Fuel Cell Demonstration website. This information can then be supplemented for comparison to your particular scenario.