Today's Mercury News has a very timely article titled "Business, Homes are Getting Their Own Power Plants" This article discusses how businesses are now using their own fuel cells and microturbines to take themselves off the power grid. Some interesting quotes from the article:

Discussing Central Park Police in New York:

"Instead, for $1 million police got their own power plant -- a clean, ultra efficient fuel cell. On May 1, they cut themselves off from New York's vaunted power grid."

"Private homes will be next, with hundreds of test residential generators scheduled for installation starting next month."

"Researches say personal power is poised to explode into everyday life just like personal computers in 1984 and cellular phones a few years after that."

"The era of big (central power plants) is certainly over," said Chuck Linderman, director of energy supply policy for the Edison Electric Institute, a power utility trade group."

The July, 1999 issue of Scientific American also has a special report on fuel cells.

Sincerely,

Steven Nelson