In the Mercury News of June 8, 1999 , Ken Abrue of Calpine said:

"Electrical demand is growing, but the supply is not. If you can put power where it's used, it's more efficient''

If this is indeed the case, then nothing meets this requirement better than fuel cells. Fuel cells can efficiently produce electricity with very little or no emissions and can be placed in or near houses and businesses. There is a very interesting web site that tracks the progress in fuel cell technology at http://www.fuelcells.org/. Here are some examples from the web site that show how more innovative communities and businesses are using fuel cell technology:

"Fuel Cells to Power Texas Housing Development. Future residents of the Sharyland Plantation residential development being built in Texas will be able to choose fuel cells to power their homes. According to a Dow Jones news report, the newly created Sharyland Utilities Inc. "expects to offer the 35,000 expected residents . . . the option to power their homes with fuel cells, rather than rely on traditional utilities in the area." Talks are under way with several residential fuel cell developers."

"Rhode Island Hospital to Get Fuel Cell. South County Hospital has contracted for installation of a fuel cell to provide power to its 100-bed campus in Wakefield, Rhode Island. The 200kW fuel cell power plant, provided by ONSI Corporation, will provide the hospital's base load electrical and thermal energy. Hospital officials were attracted to the fuel cells reliability and environmental cleanliness. "

"Bank Relies on Fuel Cell's 'Six 9s' Reliability. First National Bank of Omaha has become the first computer- reliant enterprise to rely on fuel cell power. The bank, which is one of the nation's largest credit card processors, purchased a 200kW ONSI fuel cell power plant from Sure Power Corporation of Danbury, Connecticut. The unit was installed at First National Bank's Data Center, which was interested in the fuel cell's 99.9999% (or, "six 9s") reliability. The company says the fuel cell system's reliability is the same as that of the computers at the data center. "

"New Partners/Investor for Plug Power/GE Fuel Cell Systems. GE Fuel Cell Systems has partnered with New Jersey Resources for the sale and marketing of Plug Power fuel cells in the state of New Jersey. The companies expect to begin selling residential-sized systems in 2001, and small commercial-sized systems (up to 35kW) by 2002. Retail prices of the residential systems will be $7,500-$10,000 in 2001, and are expected to fall below $4,000 by 2003. In other Plug Power news, Southern California Gas Company announced that it would invest $7.5 million in the fuel cell developer. SoCalGas pioneered installation of fuel cells in Southern California. "

For those interested in what fuel cells for homes and businesses look like there is a picture gallery at
http://www.fuelcells.org/fuel/galstat.shtml.

With such rapid advances in fuel cell technology, making a 30+ year commitment to a major new source of pollution in the southern part of San Jose is looking less and less like the ideal solution to our energy needs. Let us hope our city leaders create an energy policy appropriate for the "capital of Silicon Valley", encouraging innovative new technologies such as fuel cells.

Sincerely,

Steven Nelson