STUDY OF TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF FUEL CELL COGENERATION APPLICATIONS BY ELECTRIC UTILITIES.

This paper discusses the role of fuel cells in electric utilities for the purpose of electric-power generation alone and for the cogeneration of thermal and electric energy. Fuel cells possess a number of unique attributes that may make them more attractive than existing technologies for the purpose of utility cogeneration. First, the inherent modularity of fuel cells makes the capital cost per kw capacity less sensitive to size and permits small fuel cell plants to operate as efficiently as large ones. Further, because fuel cell operation is based on an isothermal, isobaric electrochemical process, reject heat may be recovered and utilized without any adverse effects on electrical power production. Finally fuel cells have a relatively flat heat rate characteristic that makes them attractive for part-load operation, and their low noise and emissions and negligible water requirements allow much more flexibility in siting.