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The cost of hydrogen per mile to power a fuel cell electric vehicle is approximately competitive with the cost of gasoline at $2.30/gallon. This assumes that the hydrogen is made by reforming natural gas at the fueling station with existing commercial hydrogen fueling equipment in low production volumes (10 units). With larger scale production, we estimate that hydrogen will cost less per mile than gasoline selling at $1.50/gallon.

There are over 180,000 fueling stations nationwide. About 40% of those service petroleum diesel fuel, and less than 1% service biodiesel.

Biodiesel is simple to use and requires no costly engine conversions or infrastructure changes to the current delivery system of diesel fuel.

he production process converts oils and fats into chemicals called long-chain mono alkyl esters, or biodiesel. These chemicals are also referred to as fatty acid methyl esters, and t

Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils, yellow grease, and tallow.

Ethanol yields 25% more energy than the energy invested in its production, whereas biodiesel yields 93% more. Compared with ethanol, biodiesel releases just 1.0%, 8.3%, and 13% of the agricultural nitrogen, phosphorus, and pesticide pollutants, respectively, per net energy gain. Relative to the fossil fuels they displace, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced 12% by the production and combustion of ethanol and 41% by biodiesel. Biodiesel also releases less air pollutants per net energy gain than ethanol.

Price projections vary among fuel cell developers, but most are targeting costs below $1,500/kW

Maintenance costs of a fuel cell are expected to be comparable to that of a microturbine, ranging from $0.005-$0.010/kWh (based on an annual inspection visit to the unit).

At the current price, units are only used in high value, "niche" markets where reliability is premium, and in areas where electricity prices are very high and natural gas prices are low.

Think of them as big batteries, but ones that only operate when fuel—in this case, pure hydrogen—is supplied to them.

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.

FCVs will have to offer consumers a viable alternative, especially in terms of performance, durability, and cost, to survive in this ultra-competitive market.

a fuel cell power plant using natural gas as a hydrogen source would create less than one ounce of pollution (other than CO2) for every 1,000 kW produced, compared to 25 pounds of pollutants generated by conventional combustion systems

Fuel Cells also produce 97% less nitrogen oxide emissions then conventional coal-fired power plants.

Figuring out an inexpensive and carbon-neutral way to produce an abundant amount of hydrogen will be key to the success of fuel cell vehicles

With low emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and particulate matter as well as dramatically lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2),

How much will Hydrogen fuel cost? The U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen, fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program is working to achieve the following goals: By 2005, the technology will be available to produce hydrogen at the pump for $3.00 per gallon gasoline equivalent, and DOE wants to validate this technology by 2008.  By 2010, the price goal is $1.50 per gallon of gasoline equivalent (untaxed) at the station. Even $3 a gallon would save most of us money, since FCVs will be two to three times more efficient than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.  If all the goals are met, FCVs offer the promise of energy at $1 a gallon - or less! 

The use of biomass energy has the potential to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Burning biomass releases about the same amount of carbon dioxide as burning fossil fuels. However, fossil fuels release carbon dioxide captured by photosynthesis millions of years ago—an essentially "new" greenhouse gas. Biomass, on the other hand, releases carbon dioxide that is largely balanced by the carbon dioxide captured in its own growth (depending how much energy was used to grow, harvest, and process the fuel).

Wind is simply air in motion. It is caused by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface by the sun. Because the Earth's surface is made of very different types of land and water, it absorbs the sun's heat at different rates. One example of this uneven heating can be found in the daily wind cycle.

The Daily Wind Cycle During the day, the air above the land heats up more quickly than the air over water. The warm air over the land expands and rises, and the heavier, cooler air rushes in to take its place, creating wind. At night, the winds are reversed because the air cools more rapidly over land than over water. In the same way, the atmospheric winds that circle the earth are created because the land near the Earth's equator is heated more by the sun than the land near the North and South Poles. Wind Energy for Electricity Generation Today, wind energy is mainly used to generate electricity. Wind is a renewable energy source because the wind will blow as long as the sun shines

Like old fashioned windmills, today’s wind machines (also called wind turbines) use blades to collect the wind’s kinetic energy. The wind flows over the blades creating lift, like the effect on airplane wings, which causes them to turn. The blades are connected to a drive shaft that turns an electric generator to produce electricity. With the new wind machines, there is still the problem of what to do when the wind isn't blowing. At those times, other types of power plants must be used to make electricity.

Geothermal Basics What Is Geothermal Energy? The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat). So, geothermal energy is heat from within the Earth. We can recover this heat as steam or hot water and use it to heat buildings or generate electricity. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source because the heat is continuously produced inside the Earth.

Geothermal energy is generated in the Earth's core. Temperatures hotter than the sun's surface are continuously produced inside the Earth by the slow decay of radioactive particles, a process that happens in all rocks. The Earth has a number of different layers:

Where Geothermal Energy is Found The ring of fire goes around the edges of the Pacific. The map shows that volcanic activity occurs around the Pacific rim.Source: National Energy Education Development Project (Public Domain) Naturally occurring large areas of hydrothermal resources are called geothermal reservoirs. Most geothermal reservoirs are deep underground with no visible clues showing above ground. But geothermal energy sometimes finds its way to the surface in the form of: Volcanoes and fumaroles (holes where volcanic gases are released) Hot springs Geysers