in general terms, hydrogen atoms enter a fuel cell at the anode where a chemical reaction strips them of their electrons. The hydrogen atoms are now “ionized,” and carry a positive electrical charge. The negatively charged electrons provide the current through wires to do work. If alternating current (AC) is needed, the DC output of the fuel cell must be routed through a conversion device called an inverter.

But in general terms, hydrogen atoms enter a fuel cell at the anode where a chemical reaction strips them of their electrons. The hydrogen atoms are now �ionized,� and carry a positive electrical charge. The negatively charged electrons provide the current through wires to do work. If alternating current (AC) is needed, the DC output of the fuel cell must be routed through a conversion device called an inverter.

The major challenge to using wind as a source of power is that it is intermittent and does not always blow when electricity is needed. Wind cannot be stored (although wind-generated electricity can be stored, if batteries are used), and not all winds can be harnessed to meet the timing of electricity demands. Further, good wind sites are often located in remote locations far from areas of electric power demand (such as cities).

Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to fossil fuel power plants, there is some concern over the noise produced by the rotor blades, aesthetic (visual) impacts, and birds and bats having been killed (avian/bat mortality) by flying into the rotors. Most of these problems have been resolved or greatly reduced through technological development or by properly siting wind plants.

A Renewable Non-Polluting Resource Wind energy is a free, renewable resource, so no matter how much is used today, there will still be the same supply in the future. Wind energy is also a source of clean, non-polluting, electricity. Unlike conventional power plants, wind plants emit no air pollutants or greenhouse gases. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in 1990, California's wind power plants offset the emission of more than 2.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, and 15 million pounds of other pollutants that would have otherwise been produced. It would take a forest of 90 million to 175 million trees to provide the same air quality.

Major changes will be needed to grow, handle, transport and store the immense quantities of biomass -- mostly lignocellulosic feedstocks such as switchgrass, crop residues and forest wastes -- necessary to continually feed electric power generation stations and produce biofuels for transportation,

converting to a system in which biomass provides much of the country's energy will require new ways of thinking about agriculture, energy infrastructure and rural economic development.

Producing Hydrogen for Fuel-Cell Vehicles

Cleaning Up Oil Spills

Generating Electricity

The cost varies too, from $1 to $20 a kilo. A gallon of gasoline has the same energy content as a kilo of hydrogen, but vehicles using the latter get two to three times higher mileage.

Increased biofuel demand has contributed to higher world food and feed prices.

Global biofuel production has tripled from 4.8 billion gallons in 2000 to about 16.0 billion in 2007, but still accounts for less than 3 percent of the global transportation fuel supply.

Cellulosic ethanol could raise per acre ethanol yields to more than 1,000 gallons, significantly reducing land requirements. Cellulosic ethanol is made by breaking down the tough cellular material that gives plants rigidity and structure and converting the resulting sugar into ethanol. Cellulose is the world’s most widely available biological material, present in such low-value materials as wood chips and wood waste, fast-growing grasses, crop residues like corn stover, and municipal waste.

Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas, into the atmosphere, which is the main reason why the climate is changing.

The Earth is getting warmer because people are adding heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere, mainly by burning fossil fuels. These gases are called greenhouse gases. Warmer temperatures are causing other changes around the world, such as melting glaciers and stronger storms. These changes are happening because the Earth's air, water, and land are all linked to the climate

Most fuel cells designed for use in vehicles produce less than 1.16 volts of electricity—far from enough to power a vehicle. Therefore, multiple cells must be assembled into a fuel cell stack.

Fuel cell system costs have decreased significantly over the past several years but are still nearly twice as high as those for internal combustion engines. Likewise, onboard hydrogen storage costs are currently $15–$18/kWh for high-pressure gaseous storage, while the commercialization target is $2/kWh. There is potential to reduce this cost using lower-cost carbon fiber tanks or materials-based storage technologies, such as metal hydrides.

As of October 2009, Fortune magazine estimated the cost of producing the Honda Clarity at $300,000 per car

by 2010, the Department of Energy estimated that the cost had fallen 80% and that such fuel cells could be manufactured for $51/kW,

When compared to ICE vehicles using gasoline, however, fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen produced from natural gas reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60%

Estimated cost of hydrogen per kilogram in a variety of scenarios With all of this in mind, here are the cost estimates per kilogram (which each include $1.25 for taxes): Hydrogen from natural gas (produced via steam reforming at fueling station) $4 – $5 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from natural gas (produced via steam reforming off-site and delivered by truck) $6 – $8 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from wind (via electrolysis) $8 – $10 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from nuclear (via electrolysis) $7.50 – $9.50 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from nuclear (via thermochemical cycles – assuming the technology works on a large scale) $6.50 – $8.50 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from solar (via electrolysis) $10 – $12 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from solar (via thermochemical cycles – assuming the technology works on a large scale) $7.50 – $9.50 per kilogram of hydrogen As mentioned above, a cost of hydrogen of $4 to $12 per kilogram is equivalent to gasoline at $1.60 to $4.80 per gallon.

Fuel Cost & Availability. Hydrogen is currently expensive to produce and is only available at a handful of locations, mostly in California. Vehicle Cost & Availability. Fuel cell vehicles are currently far too expensive for most consumers to afford, and they are only available to a few demonstration fleets.

The fuel cell is being considered as an eventual replacement for the internal combustion engine for cars, trucks and buses. Major car manufacturers have teamed up with fuel cell research centers or are doing their own development. There are plans for mass-producing cars running on fuel cells. Because of the low operating cost of the combustion engine, and some unresolved technical challenges of the fuel cell, however, experts predict that a large scale implementation of the fuel cell to power cars will not occur before 2015, or even 2020.

Most fuel cells are still handmade and are used for experimental purposes. Fuel cell promoters remind the public that the cost will come down once the cells are mass-produced and lower cost material are found. While an internal combustion engine requires an investment of $35 to $50 to produce one kilowatt (kW) of power, the equivalent cost in a fuel cells is still a whopping $3,000 to $7,500. The goal is a fuel cell that would cost equal or less than diesel engines.

Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—are America's primary source of energy, accounting for 85 percent of current US fuel use.

Many of the environmental problems our country faces today result from our fossil fuel dependence. These impacts include global warming, air quality deterioration, oil spills, and acid rain.

Over the last 150 years, burning fossil fuels has resulted in more than a 25 percent increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

Thirty-eight nationally recognized companies in the United States, including eleven Fortune 500 corporations, are collectively saving millions of dollars in electricity costs while reducing carbon emissions by tens of thousands of tons per year by using fuel cells, according to a new report by Fuel Cells 2000, a non-profit education and outreach organization.