中国储能网讯：燃料电池微电网正在兴起，这是两个技术（燃料电池和微电网）的天然属性和相辅相成的结果，这两个技术互为彼此，唇齿相依。他们共同满足当今能源发展的需求，这些能源具有成本竞争力，高度可靠，清洁，安静，包容，模块化，可扩展和社区友好。

燃料电池微电网

特别报告：“燃料电池微电网：降低成本，提高可靠性，更清洁能源的途径”

在未来的某一天，两种技术都会在合适的时机和适合的地点生根开花结果 ，因为北美电网越来越分散。美国过去几十年来一直以微电网的思维来发展和调整美国全国电网。但微电网曾经主要在大学校园里。然后在2012年，“超级巨风”珊蒂，彻底改变了和颠覆了美国对国家传统集中式电网的认识，集中电网的脆弱性和分布式能源的价值。

今天，广泛的企业，机构和社区正在安装微电网。根据燃料电池和氢能协会（FCHEA）的统计，燃料电池遵循了类似的轨迹，现在已经有40多个州在运行燃料电池发电。

Navigant Research预测，未来几年燃料电池和微电网的需求将大幅增长。在全球范围内，燃料电池装置预计将增长10倍以上，从2016年安装的262兆瓦到9年后的3,000兆瓦。根据研究公司的统计，2025年这一新的固定燃料电池市场将达到162亿美元。

Navigant公布了其关于固定燃料电池的第三季度报告，说：“技术突破正在让持续的成本下降，产品改进和商业模式创新，使得燃料电池在不断增长的市场范围内成为可行。与此同时，在Navigant另一个预测中微电网也正在增长，从2015年的1.4GW到2024年的7.6GW。此时，全球微电网市场年收入将达到200亿美元。

燃料电池微电网的神经和大脑

这两个日益流行的能源的结合使得电网的神经和大脑结合在一起。燃料电池提供可靠的一代;微电网提供先进的智能。

这种配对对于创造经济可靠的能源至关重要。这就是为什么：微电网可能有几个发电源，其中一些是间歇性或短寿命的，如太阳能或储能。另一方面，燃料电池可以每天24小时，每周七天，每年365天不间断运行（只要有燃料供应 - 通常是清洁的天然气）。当其太阳能，电池或其他资源不可用时，微电网总能依靠燃料电池来提供连续的电力。

因此，燃料电池充当微电网可配置其各种能源资源 - 包括来自中心电网的电力的依靠的一种备份。

什么是燃料电池？燃料电池将化学能从含氢丰富的燃料转化为电力，并且在几乎不含污染物的电化学过程中，同时产生可用的高质量的热能。类似于电池，燃料电池是由许多单个电池形成电堆。当诸如天然气，沼气甲醇乙醇等的富氢燃料进入燃料电池堆时，它与氧电化学反应产生电流，热和水。典型的电池需要固定的电力充电补充能量供应，但燃料电池只要有燃料供应就连续发电。

由于燃料电池骨干备份的完美无缺，先进的微电网在多任务控制中，只要找出在任何给定的时刻使用哪些资源。它根据微电网控制器设定的目标做出这些决定。目标可能是成本效益，可靠性，环境绩效或运营商优先级的某一个参数。

微电网和燃料电池通常采用热电联产（CHP）来提高效率。该技术可以捕捉发电中产生的热量，在传统的集中式发电厂产生的热量都浪费了。然后在分布式微电网中，利用这部分热量成为可能，用热量给建筑物供暖和制冷（带吸收式制冷机），或创造有价值的蒸汽或热水。

燃料电池也是：

▶模块化和可扩展。随着时间的推移，微电网客户的能源需求也在增长。

▶易于安装和环境友好，燃料电池可以安装在内部或外部。他们是社区友好的，因为相比于太阳能或风力发电场可能只需要很少的空间，不要使用大量的土地。

▶由于其清洁的排放情况，通常免受监管繁琐的复制和检查。事实上，在许多国家，燃料电池不需要空气许可证的。

▶安静，因为它们几乎没有移动部件。

谁是燃料电池微电网的受益者？一点儿也不奇怪，燃料电池和微电网有类似和相同的客户群，你会发现通常彼此的客户都欢迎对方的产品。这些包括寻求高度可靠的电力的人，如数据中心，研究设施，医院，制造商，制药公司和公共安全。公用事业公司还使用燃料电池和微电网作为s电网电力替代方案，以帮助加强其电网领域，代替和升级更昂贵的基础设施

FCHEA总裁Morry Markowitz说：“燃料电池是微电网的可行和有效的技术，特别是在公用电网处于危险状态的地区（州）。 “今天燃料电池可以确保持续发挥基础服务的力量，如医院，第一反应者，数据中心和其他关键设施，同时为他们所服务的社区提供经济和环境效益。”

燃料电池微电网市场兴旺

虽然在美国的大部分地区都能找到燃料电池，但燃料电池基本上集中在三个州，加利福尼亚州，康涅狄格州和纽约州。有趣的是，这些州也是微电网的强劲的市场。

根据FCHEA，加州有超过480个燃料电池固定发电系统，总计超过210兆瓦的发电量。加州也是早期的微电网的倡导者，加利福尼亚州是几个公用事业，军事和商业微电网的所在地，随着国家制定新的微电网战略，它更有可能超前实现。

FCHEA报道，几家燃料电池公司，其中包括FuelCell Energy，康涅狄格州至少有35兆瓦的燃料电池运行和20兆瓦的计划安装。康涅狄格州正在开发的一个63.3兆瓦的燃料电池安装将成为世界上最大的燃料电池系统。康涅狄格州是全国第一个开发补助计划来推动微电网的州。

纽约有14兆瓦的燃料电池，更多的可能是随着州展开其改革能源愿景，一项旨在创建更分散的电网的政策。为此，纽约正在向微电网拨款4000万美元。

阅读更多关于燃料电池微电网的兴起，我们的报告“燃料电池微电网：降低成本，更高可靠性，更清洁能源的道路”，可免费下载，由FuelCell Energy提供。

The Rise of Fuel Cell Microgrids: Special Report

April 13, 2017 By Elisa Wood Leave a Comment 

Fuel cell microgrids are on the rise, the result of a natural pairing of two technologies — fuel cells and microgrids — that serve a mutual mission. Together, they meet today’s demand for energy that is cost-competitive, highly reliable, clean, quiet, contained, modular, scalable and community-friendly.

Special Report: “Fuel Cell Microgrids: The Path to Lower Cost, Higher Reliability, Cleaner Energy“

Once futuristic, both technologies find themselves at the right time and place, as the North American grid becomes increasingly distributed. America flirted with the idea of microgrids for decades. But microgrids were largely confined to college campuses. Then in 2012 Superstorm Sandy jolted the nation into understanding the fragility of its centralized power grid and the value of distributed energy.

Today, a wide range of businesses, institutions and communities are installing microgrids. Fuel cells have followed a similar trajectory and now operate in more than 40 states, according to the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA).

Navigant Research forecasts strong, growing demand for both fuel cells and microgrids over the next several years. Worldwide, fuel cell installations are expected to increase more than 10-fold, from 262 MW installed in 2016 to over 3,000 MW nine years later. That should put the market for new stationary fuel cells at $16.2 billion in 2025, according to the research firm.

“Technology breakthroughs are giving way to persistent cost declines, product improvements, and business model innovations, making fuel cells viable in a growing range of markets,” said Navigant in releasing its 3rd quarter 2016 report on stationary fuel cells. At the same time, microgrids grow in a separate Navigant forecast from 1.4 GW in 2015 to 7.6 GW in 2024. At that point, the global microgrid market could reach $20 billion in annual revenue.

The brawn and the brain of fuel cell microgrids

The marriage of these two increasingly popular energy sources brings brawn and brain together. The fuel cell offers reliable generation; the microgrid offers advanced intelligence.

This pairing is crucial to create economic and reliable energy. Here’s why: A microgrid may have several sources of generation, some of them intermittent or short-lived, such as solar energy or energy storage. The fuel cell, on the other hand, can run continuously 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year (as long it has a fuel supply—often clean, natural gas). When its solar, batteries or other resources are unavailable, the microgrid can always count on the fuel cell to supply continuous power.

Therefore, the fuel cell acts as a kind of back bone that the microgrid can rely on as it configures its various energy resources —including power from the central grid.

What is a fuel cell? Fuel cells convert chemical energy from hydrogen rich fuels into electrical power and usable high quality heat in an electrochemical process that is virtually absent of pollutants. Similar to a battery, a fuel cell has many individual cells that form a stack. When a hydrogen-rich fuel, such as clean natural gas or renewable biogas enters the fuel cell stack, it reacts electrochemically with oxygen to produce electric current, heat and water. While a typical battery has a fixed supply of energy, fuel cells continuously generate electricity as long as fuel is supplied. Source: FuelCell Energy

With this back bone intact, the advanced microgrid controller multi-tasks, figuring out which resources to use at any given moment. It makes these decisions based on the goals set by the microgrid controller. The goal may be cost-effectiveness, reliability, environmental performance or another parameter the operator prioritizes.

Microgrids and fuel cells often create further efficiencies by employing combined heat and power (CHP). This technology captures waste heat created in electric production. It then puts the heat to good use warming and cooling buildings (with absorption chillers), or creating valuable steam or hot water.

Fuel cells are also:

Modular and scalable. More can be added as the microgrid customer’s energy demand grows over time.

Easy to site. Fuel cells can be installed inside or outside. They are community-friendly because they require little space and do not use up large swaths of land, as solar or wind farms may.

Typically spared regulatory red tape and review due to their clean emissions profile. In fact, in many states no air permit is required for a fuel cell.

Quiet because they have few moving parts.

Who benefits from fuel cell microgrids? Not surprisingly, fuel cells and microgrids find themselves popular among similar kinds of customers. These include those who seek highly reliable power, such as data centers, research facilities, hospitals, manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and public safety. Utilities also use fuel cells and microgrids as non-wires alternatives to help bolster areas of their grid in lieu of more expensive infrastructure upgrades.

“Fuel cells are a viable and effective technology for microgrids, especially in states where the utility grid is at risk,” said Morry Markowitz, FCHEA president. “Today fuel cells ensure continuous power to essential services, such as hospitals, first responders, data centers, and other critical facilities, while providing economic and environmental benefits to the communities they serve.”

Strong markets for fuel cell microgrids

While fuel cells can be found through much of the U.S., three states lead the way—California, Connecticut and New York. Interestingly, these states are also strong markets for microgrids.

California has more than 480 fuel cell systems, totaling more than 210 MW of power generation, according to FCHEA. Also an early proponent of microgrids, California is home to several utility, military and commercial microgrids—with more likely to come as the state maps out a new microgrid strategy.

Home of several fuel cell companies, among them FuelCell Energy, Connecticut has at least 35 MW of fuel cells in operation and 20 MW planned, reports FCHEA. A 63.3-MW fuel cell installation, now under development in Connecticut, will be the world’s largest fuel cell when completed. The state was the first in the nation to develop a grant program to spur microgrids.

New York has 14 MW of fuel cells, and more are likely as the state unfolds its Reforming the Energy Vision, a policy designed to create a more distributed grid. To that end, New York is in the process of allotting $40 million in grants to microgrids.

Read more about the rise of fuel cell microgrids in our report, “Fuel Cell Microgrids: The Path to Lower Cost, Higher Reliability, Cleaner Energy,” downloadable at no cost, courtesy of FuelCell Energy.