1. Presentation to EPRCTuesday, September 08, 2015

2. May 03-16 Today’s Agenda  Problem statement  Fuel cell overview and types  Market overview  Utility interconnection  Different fuel types  Economics  Summary

3. May 03-16 Problem Statement MidAmerican Energy desired an analysis of where fuel cell technology is and its economic feasibility for distributed applications. – Can fuel cell derived energy provide a competitive $ / kW to current energy production methods? – How do fuel cells function? – Where can fuel cells be utilized? – When can fuel cells be expected to reach market? – Who will benefit from fuel cell energy? – Why are fuel cells worth investing in? – What additional benefits and pit falls exist with fuel cells?

4. May 03-16 Research Approach  Address the following: –Advantages / disadvantages of fuel cells –Electrical distribution issues and safety –Required resources –Market readiness –Economics –Life expectancy

5. May 03-16 James Parker - Client MidAmerican Energy Brian Anderson EE Brad Davis EE Curtis Irwin EE Hamed Abdelsalam EE Dr. Vijay Vittal Faculty Advisor Fuel Cell Project Team

6. May 03-16 Fuel Cell Overview 1.Extracted hydrogen enters the anode 1.Oxygen (Air) enters the cathode 2.Hydrogen electrons separate via anode catalyst; the electrolyte transfers the hydrogen ions only http://www.fe.doe.gov/coal_power/fuelcells/fuelcells_howitworks.shtml

7. May 03-16 Fuel Cell Overview 3.Electrons are utilized in an external circuit for energy consumption 4.Electrons, hydrogen ions, and oxygen recombine into water http://www.fe.doe.gov/coal_power/fuelcells/fuelcells_howitworks.shtml

8. May 03-16 Fuel Cell Types

9. May 03-16 Common FC Specifications  Expected Life –Entire unit lasts approximately 20 years –Fuel Cell stack lasts about 40,000 hours –Increases based on capacity of operation  Efficiency –Typically between 30% and 50% (No CHP) –Decreases based on capacity of operation  All types can be used as CHP units

10. May 03-16 Utility Implications  State of Iowa –Fuel cells not “Renewable energy sources”  United States Federal Government –May be considered “Renewable energy sources”  Department of Defense – Climate Change Rebate Program –$1000/kW

11. May 03-16 Natural Gas Market Source: Natural Gas Annual, U.S. Department of Energy

12. May 03-16 Natural Gas Supply & Demand Natural gas DemandNatural gas Supply

13. May 03-16 Current Fuel Cell Market ManufacturerSizeUnits Installed Date of Commercialization FC Type Ballard250 kW02004PEMFC FuelCell Energy 250 kW20+Currently marketedPEMFC Plug Power25 kW78Currently marketedPEMFC Siemens Westinghouse 200kW, 500 kW 0250 kW, 10/2003 500 kW, 2005 SOFC UTC200 kW250+Currently marketedPEMFC

14. May 03-16 Applicable Size Range Source: American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 2002 publication, Fuel Cells for Building Applications

15. May 03-16 Initial Commercialization Source: American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 2002 publication, Fuel Cells for Building Applications

16. May 03-16 First Cost Estimates Source: American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 2002 publication, Fuel Cells for Building Applications

17. May 03-16 Utility Interconnection Major requirements for distributed power generation (DPG) summarized from the IEEE Draft Standard P1547 in three categories:  General Requirements  Safety and Protection Requirements  Power Quality Requirements

18. May 03-16 Fuels  Six types of fuel: 1.Hydrogen 2.Natural gas 3.Methanol 4.Fuel oil 5.LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) 6.Coal gas

19. May 03-16 Fuels  Hydrogen –No adequate production and transportation infrastructure to support hydrogen fuel cells for utility generation. – Current storage methods include compressed gas, liquid hydrogen, metal hydride, storage in pipelines and carbon-based systems. – Very high production and storage cost. –Second step in the U.S. Department of Energy's National Hydrogen Vision and Roadmap.

20. May 03-16 Fuels Hydrogen Storage Cost

21. May 03-16 Fuels  Natural Gas –Existing production and transportation infrastructure able to support use fuel cells as generation units. – Market ready Infrastructure Fuel cell design

22. May 03-16 Fuels  Methanol, Fuel Oil, LPG, and Coal Gas –No adequate infrastructure to support fuel cells for utility generation. –Require storage tanks. –High cost of storage facilities. –Different safety measures depending on fuel type.

23. May 03-16 Economics Overview  Economic feasibility  DoD application checklist / calculators  Results from field evaluations

24. May 03-16 Economic Feasibility Cost of Electricity Pros: – Relatively less data intensive – Provides an indication of application feasibility Cons: – Estimating the thermal energy recovered from a fuel cell system, accurately – Determining the cost of utility supplied electricity and annual energy use Annual Savings based on Hourly Cost. Pros: – Provides a fact & data driven evaluation on application feasibility – Apply different operational strategies Cons: Large amount of data collection and evaluation must occur before the resulting annual savings value is established

25. May 03-16 DoD Application Checklist DoD Fuel Cell - Step-by-Step Outline

26. May 03-16 DoD Application Calculators DoD Fuel Cell - Interactive Guide Application worksheet

27. May 03-16 Field Evaluations 1MW (5 - 200KW paralleled PAFCs) 3/00 – 3/01 Site: USPS processing facility Anchorage, AK SCADA controlled multiple fuel cell dist. gen. Project cost: $5.5M - $5500/kW (R&D, manufacture, install) Two revenues: USPS prepaid $1M electric sales (3.6 cents/kWh) Excess power exported @ 2.5 cents/kWh Maintenance: $0.0273/kWh Fuel: $0.0342/kWh Operating cost: $0.0615/kWh Chugach Electric Association

28. May 03-16 Field Evaluations Project declared commercial 11/00 18 unscheduled shutdowns for 221hrs of 14400hrs =98.46% March/01 13.43MBtu provided to site at no charge Reported that boiler fired only once during winter Problems: Fuel cell starting attempts Site management system (SMS) development Benefits: No need for UPS / diesel generator system because of SMS Thermal energy for building heating Grid independent and grid parallel operation Chugach Electric Association

29. May 03-16 Field Evaluations 2 - 200kW IFC PC25 units 11/00 – 12/01 Site: Ramapo College of New Jersey Dormitory FC – grid parallel, dorm’s domestic hot water & space heat Academic FC – grid parallel & independent operation, space heat Project cost: $2.15M - $5375/kW Annual savings: (Simple payback of 9 years) Dormitory FC - $65,000/yr Academic FC - $125,000/yr Maintenance: $0.014/kWh Fuel: $0.039/kWh Operating cost: $0.053/kWh McBride Energy Services, LLC

30. May 03-16 Field Evaluations Mean time between forced outages (MTFBO) Academic FC98.8% Dormitory FC95.4% Thermal energy not monitored Reported that domestic hot water heaters only operated in the winter morning months Problems: –Fuel cell not allowed to meet emergency power requirements per public building code; installed natural gas fired generator –UPS system required for Academic FC during 5 sec internal reconfiguration time for electric operational mode –Dormitory site requirements –Project management Benefits: Emissions are significantly less than strictest air quality std. Thermal energy for building heating and domestic hot water McBride Energy Services, LLC

31. May 03-16 Field Evaluations Rock Island Arsenal MCFC Source: Engineer Research and Development Center / Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFCs) for Department of Defense Applications, pg. 122, November 2000, ERDC/CERL TR-00-34

32. May 03-16 Field Evaluations Rock Island Arsenal MCFC Source: Engineer Research and Development Center / Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFCs) for Department of Defense Applications, pg. 122, November 2000, ERDC/CERL TR-00-34

33. May 03-16 Economic Considerations  High electric to natural gas ratio  Over sized steam reformer For the production of hydrogen as a third benefit  Electrical and thermal load profiles  Natural gas rate structure  Capacity factors above 50%  Independent power producers: off-peak sales  Fuel cell production volume  Existing infrastructure

34. May 03-16 Summary Many factors need taken into consideration when evaluating a site for fuel cell installation. By covering the types of fuel cells, market readiness, available fuels, and economic considerations can we begin to understand the variables that determine feasibility. Therefore, only through intense data collection of electrical and thermal needs for a specific application can a determination be made.

35. May 03-16 Questions?

36. May 03-16 Thank You!