A list of like the top energy sources with fuel cells would be really great.
Yes, I agree with the prior answers that fuel cells as of themselves are not a renewable energy source, but an integral part in the collection of solar energy. Examples of renewable energy sources are sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat which come from natural resources. They are naturally replenished. Mainstream forms of renewable energy are Wind power, Hydro-power, Solar energy, Biomass, Bio-fuel, and Geothermal energy. Each form of renewable energy has their own set of advantages and disadvantages. After installing a bio-fuel outdoor heating furnace in 2009 we significantly reduced our oil heating costs. Our next project in short order is looking at both wind and sun power. We are planning on reducing our electric costs through the use of wind and solar energy.
At the bottom. Don't get me wrong, I think that fuel cells will be important in future technology, but they aren't a fuel SOURCE. There are no vast reserves of hydrogen, like there are/were of oil, waiting to be tapped. Fuel cells are a form of energy storage, a clean burning fuel, as it were. They are batteries. They can make use of energy created by other sources, renewable or not. Sorry, I don't have a list of renewable energy sources, to show ranking, but in the exact sense of the wording, as I have already beaten to death, fuel cells are not a renewable energy source.
O.k. I'm going to reword your question and then try to answer it. How do fuel cells fit into our energy needs. #0 Increased energy efficiency (will do more to help than any alternative source of energy #1 Coal Where most of our electricity comes from (Cheap, but dirty, lots of it though right here in the U.S. #2 Oil/Gas Where heating, transportation, and some of our electricity comes from. (A little pricey, supplies might be running low, at least where we can get them easily, range from very clean to filthy. #3 Nuclear. Where a lot of or electricity comes from. (What to do with radioactive waste?, Security issues? Safety? Expensive compared to coal, mostly because of regulations, but no greenhouse gas emissions) #4 Hydroelectricity (Clean, cheap, Dams create environmental problems, displace people, only feasible in certain areas.) #5 Wood (Not typically used to create electricity but renewable, used to heat homes, cheap, dirty and high labor.) We now enter alternative energy #6. Wind, (similar issues to hydro, but less output. and can't be stored.) #7. Solar (Very expensive, requires battery banks, widely used in remote locations and specialty applications.) #8 Batteries. (Great for flashlights, everyone waiting for the breakthrough in high capacity inexpensive battery. Not here yet, may never be.) #9 Fuel Cells. (Expensive, but may hold promise, could make a GREAT alternative to batteries to run flashlights, cell phones, cars, homes?) #10 Get a horse (Expensive, slow, no place to plug in my i-phone) #11 Dogs on treadmills.
Fuel cells aren't a source of energy, they are devices that extract chemically stored energy. If that chemically stored energy (fuel) is from a fossil reserve then it's not a renewable source of energy (at least not renewable in our lifetimes) but if it's produced by solar or wind power then it's renewable. Note that when Sandia Labs researched more efficient ways of producing hydrogen using solar energy, they realized that they could also produce hydrocarbon fuels so in fact fuels such as gasoline could also be renewable energy sources if synthesized from solar energy as was done with the CR5 reactor.
Brian is right. A fuel cell is not an energy source. It is an energy transforming device. Just like the internal combustion engine in your car, you have to put something into it (hydrogen+oxygen) before you can get something out (electricity). But, you don't want electricity, you want propulsion so you have to add an electric motor (made by GE?). MORE ---------------------------------------- Energy is NEVER renewable. Entropy ALWAYS increases and is irreversible in nature in a closed and isolated system (our universe)! Someone from another universe (like a space cadet) may see it differently. Problem is, the energy required to separate hydrogen and oxygen to feed the fuel cell requires more energy than the power provided when they are recombined. I prefer my solar powered car. It uses fuel produced by plants that harvested and concentrated the sun's energy over millions of years. (IE.: It runs on gasoline!) More AGAIN! ---------------------------------------- Does anyone else see the symbiosis between General Electric and the current administration? Both are pushing for wind mills (of which GE is the largest producer) subsidized by tax dollars while MSNBC (part owned by GE) is forever singing the praises of the Obama gang.
