Distributed generation systems using fuel cells is looking a lot more attractive to hotel chains after the Northeast blackout forced some guests to sleep on the street. Government grants are bringing the price of fuel-cell systems close to that of buying power off the grid, and the security of having power generated on site sweetens the deal.

EASY ADD-ON Sheraton cell generates power and heat. (Photo courtesy of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Inc. )

The U.S. hospitality industry’s first fuel-cell system went on line this summer at the Sheraton Edison Raritan Center, in Edison, N.J., and another is in the works. "We’re embracing the technology," says Rob Gisolfi, energy program manager for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., White Plains, N.Y., the hotel’s owner.

Fuel cells generate electricity by electrolysis, using hydrogen from garbage, biomass or natural gas. The main byproduct is hot (700°F) water, which can be used for laundry or heating. But at $6,000 per kw, it’s an extremely expensive powerplant. Federal and state grants "will drive" utilization of that power, says John Lembo, Starwood director of energy.

The New Jersey Clean Energy Fund made grants of $860,000 each for the Edison installation and one at the Sheraton in Pasippany, due for completion this fall. And the Sheraton Hotel & Towers in New York City is installing a 250-kw molten carbonate fuel cell cogeneration unit using a $920,000 grant from New York State.

Other units are in use abroad. Japan’s Nagoya Sakae Washington Hotel in 1999 installed a phosphoric acid fuel cell manufactured by Fuji Electric Co. The plant reduces the hotel’s energy costs by 40%.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is promoting combined heat and power (CHP) technologies that use turbines, microturbines, internal combustion engines or fuel cells to cogenerate heat and power on site. According to the U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association, CHP provides about 8% of the total U.S. electrical generation capacity or 67,000 Mw. Most of that is used for industry, but Lembo says Starwood is considering more installations.

Other hotel chains may follow. "Certainly, we are looking hard at ways to have a source of power that will keep things going safely" in case of power failure, says an engineer for a major hotel chain. "Fuel cells are one choice. Turbines or steam turbines are another thing used in other kinds of facilities," he says. Guests who have to suffer heat, cold, darkness and even lockouts aren’t happy guests, industry sources note.

H.T. Lyons, Bethlehem, Pa., did the cogeneration engineering and was mechanical contractor in Edison and Parsippany. PPL, Allentown, Pa., was prime contractor. Fuel Cell Energy Inc., Danbury, Conn., performed engineering and owns the fuel cell technology.