The home on Boice Road in Tompkins is owned by Randy Tweedie, a foreman for the Delaware County Electric Cooperative, the nonprofit utility that launched the project in June with support from federal and state agencies and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
The long-term goal is to determine whether the fuel cells, which convert propane into hydrogen fuel that generates electricity, could be used as an alternative to erecting far-flung distribution systems of poles and wires, which cost $50,000 per mile to construct and $4,500 a year to maintain.
"We'd like to do this on a large scale if the economics of it look attractive," said Greg Starheim, general manager and chief executive officer of the cooperative, which provides power to 5,000 customers living in Delaware, Otsego, Chenango and Schoharie counties.
The cooperative chose the home of an employee who is willing to work with the cooperative to try out the new fuel storage system, whose reliability is expected to be satisfactory, but not guaranteed. "So far we're off to a great start," said Starheim.
The project is being funded by $300,000 earmarked by Congress as part of an appropriation for Energy and Water Development.
The project is being administered by the U.S. Department of Energy. Another $175,000 in funding has been provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The fuel cells used were purchased from Plug Power Inc. of Latham, a manufacturer of fuel cells. Data generated from monitoring devices are being transmitted in "real time" to research partners participating in the project, Starheim said.
Here's how the on-site fuel-cell system works: Propane is delivered to the home and stored in an ordinary tank, which feeds the gas into the fuel cell module. The propane is converted into hydrogen in a device called a reformer, Starheim said. The hydrogen is then pumped into fuel cell stacks, enclosed in a box about 12 inches in width and 18 inches high. A chemical process begins that converts the hydrogen into protons, producing the electricity needed to power lights and appliances.
The by-products of this combustion-free process are water and heat, which can be used to meet 50 percent of the hot water needs of a typical home, said Starheim.
"The unique thing about fuel cells is that they generate electricity without combustion," he said. "So there are no pollution by-products."
In addition, the in-home fuel cell can be used to store renewable energy generated from any other on-site sources, such as solar panels, said Mark Hilson Schneider, engineering manager for the cooperative.
"Instead of moving energy through distribution systems, it's generated in the same place it's used," said Schneider. Many utilities rely on coal-powered plants. The cooperative gets its power via the New York Power Authority, which operates hydroelectric plants at Niagara Falls and along the St. Lawrence River.
The cooperative's electric rates are 40 percent less than its commercial counterparts.
The cooperative was formed in 1944 as a means of getting power to remote rural areas. Today, 830 such electric cooperatives serve 16 percent of the population living on 65 percent of the country's land mass.