This week in New York City, a 500-unit apartment building became the first residential building in New York State to be powered and heated by a fuel cell. The 400 kilowatt (kW) fuel cell from UTC Power cost a total of $3 million and was made possible by $1.2 million in subsidies from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
The project also qualified for a federal refundable tax credit under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which will cover approximately 30% of the installation cost. With the combination of state and federal subsidies, plus the annual energy savings that the fuel cell will produce, the facility owner should recover its entire investment in approximately five years.
The fuel cell is a combined heat and power (CHP) system that converts natural gas to electricity and heat through an electrochemical process without combustion. It will provide most of the building's needs for power, heat, and hot water with negligible emissions. The building obtains additional power from a 50kW solar photovoltaic array, also subsidized by NYSERDA.
NYSERDA's Fuel Cell Program provides incentives toward the cost of fuel cell installations, plus payments over the first three years of operation based on power produced. Funding is awarded to applications received on a first-come, first-serve basis. Other facilities that are installing or operating fuel cells with finding from NYSERDA include a supermarket in Colonie, New York, a soft drink bottling plant in Elmsford, New York, and the East Rochester Central School District.
John Howley
Woodbridge, New Jersey
The project also qualified for a federal refundable tax credit under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which will cover approximately 30% of the installation cost. With the combination of state and federal subsidies, plus the annual energy savings that the fuel cell will produce, the facility owner should recover its entire investment in approximately five years.
The fuel cell is a combined heat and power (CHP) system that converts natural gas to electricity and heat through an electrochemical process without combustion. It will provide most of the building's needs for power, heat, and hot water with negligible emissions. The building obtains additional power from a 50kW solar photovoltaic array, also subsidized by NYSERDA.
NYSERDA's Fuel Cell Program provides incentives toward the cost of fuel cell installations, plus payments over the first three years of operation based on power produced. Funding is awarded to applications received on a first-come, first-serve basis. Other facilities that are installing or operating fuel cells with finding from NYSERDA include a supermarket in Colonie, New York, a soft drink bottling plant in Elmsford, New York, and the East Rochester Central School District.
John Howley
Woodbridge, New Jersey