A residential fuel cell cogeneration system achieved total energy
efficiency of 81.2 percent (power generation, 32.7 percent*1; and heat
recovery, 48.5 percent*2) in a field test, according to a report
by the Agency for Natural Resources and
Energy, which is under the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry. The report was prepared based on data obtained from fuel cell
units installed under the fiscal 2005 subsidy program (the first term)
of the Stationary Fuel Cell Extensive Demonstration Project, which
started in fiscal 2005. The unit with the highest total energy
efficiency also achieved a 44.2 percent reduction in carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions, compared to the use of a gas-fired water heater and
electricity from thermal power generation.
Data
were collected on all units during a specified 15-day period by 10
groups consisting of an implementing company paired with a fuel cell
maker, and then compiled and analyzed. The Tokyo Gas Co./Ebara Corp.
team achieved the highest performance of all 10 groups, leaving others
far behind. Its average reduction in primary energy consumption was
21.8 percent, and the average CO2 emission reduction was 35.7 percent.
As for the reliability measured by the number of failures during
operation, almost all demonstration sites were free from trouble.
The
agency also announced that 225 applications by 11 companies were chosen
for the second term of the fiscal 2005 subsidy program. The number of
applications surged from 217 presented by seven companies in the first
term to 397 by 11 companies in the second term. The 11 companies
selected (6 gas-related and 5 oil-related businesses) will operate 225
fuel cell units over the next two years or more.
The project
will continue through the end of fiscal 2007, with an eye to promoting
the widespread use of fuel cells starting in fiscal 2008.
*1:
Average power generation efficiency of thermal power plants: 36.6
percent (Source: Revised Law concerning the Rational Use of Energy)
*2:
Energy efficiency of gas-fired water heaters: 78 percent (Source:
Quality Housing Components Certification Regulations, June 2003, by the
Center for Better Living)
Read this and more at: Japan for Sustainability
