Find Alternative Energy Investing Links, Renewable Power Stocks





Search Alternative Energy Stocks, Renewable Power Investing Info

Clean Geen Power Mutual Funds and Investments

Find Green Energy Funds, Renewable Energy Stocks, Clean Power Investments

Search Green Energy Stocks Investing Network:

Custom Search
CAUTION: Investing in common stocks of publicly-listed companies is a high risk (and high potential reward) activity. Owning investments in individual renewable energy technology companies is for high risk investors only, and medium risk investors should consider green mutual funds, closed-end clean energy funds, alternative energy index funds and other clean energy sector investments. Even then, these funds should be owned as part of a widely diversified portfolio, and always be considered as longer term investments.

Alternative energy stocks and other renewable power investments are a core component of ethical investing portfolios. Find info on Alternative Energy websites, research solar power, locate renewable power information and solar energy companies online. Links to info on clean fuels, solar power as a peace technology, solar energy stocks and clean power mutual funds.

Clean Energy Website Information Network

Find green power alternative energy solutions, clean energy stocks, water technology stocks, water purification companies, water desalination technology and photovoltaic solar electric power company websites:

Custom Search




Sunday, August 31, 2008

Microturbine and Fuel Cell Technology Companies; Capstone and Fuel Cell Energy

Alternative energy investors are likely familiar with the excellent renewable power investing website www.AltEnergyStocks.com run by Tom Konrad, so some of you may have already read the company profiles below. Turbine manufacturer Capstone Microturbine (CPST) and molten carbonate fuel cell company Fuel Cell Energy (FCEL) are presented in the context of how their clean energy technologies can provide efficiency and find success in the emerging pure fuels economy.

Since it was written, CPST has risen to $2.72, while FCEL has dropped to $6.94, having been clubbed in recent days by widening 3rd quarter losses. Both names may still offer excellent capital gains potential for the speculative and long term investors looking to build diversified portfolios of emerging clean energy technology growth stocks.

Happy Sunday!

Joe T


Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technology, distributed generation

(excerpted from a late '07 post by Tom Konrad on AltEnergyStocks.com)


Capstone Microturbine (NasdaqGM:CPST) $1.62 (30dec07), and

FuelCell Energy Inc. (NasdaqGM:FCEL) $10.30 (30dec07)

I'm bullish on both these companies because I'm bullish on distributed generation and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technologies. My intuition is that 2008 or 2009 will be the year that distributed generation and CHP grab the attention of Wall Street, the way thin-film PV stole the show in 2007. Both FuelCell and Capstone stand to benefit. They may even get a boost from making ethanol production more efficient.

Regular readers may be surprised that I am recommending a fuel cell stock, since I call Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles "a politically inspired boondoggle." But there are more types of fuel cells than hydrogen: molten carbonate or solid oxide fuel cells. FCEL makes a variant of molten carbonate fuel cell, called the Direct Fuel Cell (DFC), a different beast than the hydrogen fuel cells, because it can work without an external mechanism to reform the hydrogen.

FuelCell's DFCs burn methane rather than hydrogen, and are very tolerant not only of low heat content methane (which is often produced in anaerobic digestion or wastewater treatment.) Note that on page 10 of this EPA study [.pdf] of combined heat and power installations at wastewater treatment plants, a 300kW fuel cell requires a less expensive fuel treatment pressurization facility than a much smaller microturbine system. This is almost certainly due to the lower need for fuel pressurization.

Biogas can be a particularly tricky fuel given the presence of impurities such as H2S and siloxanes which build up as deposits in combustion chambers. Microturbines, fuel cells, and internal combustion engines need fuel treatment if siloxanes (which are usually present in waste water treatment plants as a byproduct of deodorants) are present. Fuel cells and reciprocating engines also require the removal of H2S. Nevertheless, wastewater treatment facilities combine an abundant source of free fuel (biogas) with a need for heating, and so present excellent opportunities for CHP.

Fuel cells are more efficient (47% fuel to electricity conversion) than comparably sized microturbines (30-35%) or internal combustion generators (about 40%), which not only translates into fuel savings (or higher electricity output), but also leads to only 85% or less CO2 emissions than the less expensive (per kW) or internal combustion generators. Both microturbines and fuel cells get a large system efficiency boost when the heat is also used; both FuelCell and Capstone claim that their products can reach 80% overall efficiency in a CHP context, while the relatively small size of microturbines and fuel cells are particularly well suited to small scale industrial facilities and commercial buildings.

Rising fuel prices make efficient energy generation important and new fuel sources such as biogas and other waste gasses (such as the Ford plant using a DFC to make electricity from paint fumes) will present opportunities for both DFCs and microturbines in CHP and distributed generation applications. While DFCs have the advantage of working well on low energy content gas, microturbines are better suited to many projects due to their smaller size, and more fuel flexibility. Microturbines are much more tolerant of a wide variety of fuels, and can even handle the H2S in digester gas, as noted above. Capstone sells versions which can run on liquid fuels such as diesel, propane, and kerosene. While fuel cells also have this capability, they are less tolerant of impurities, and FuelCell does not currently sell products for these markets.

One final advantage for microturbines is their ability to ramp up and down quickly, meaning they can used in remote locations with irregular fuel supplies, or when demand for electricity is not constant. DFCs are less able to ramp up and down because of the need to maintain a high temperature in the fuel cell stacks, so they will only be used when they can be always on, but their ability to supplement biogas with natural gas from the pipeline system still means that they can be used with fuel of variable availability.

FuelCell's DFC and Capstone's microturbines should be able to compete effectively with internal combustion engines in distributed generation applications, since reciprocating engines are too large for many potential projects. Rising energy prices and tightening emissions limits should allow DFCs to slowly increase their market share in a rapidly growing market. Incidentally, there has also been a successful test of a fuel cell/microturbine hybrid system [.pdf], with a Capstone turbine generating electricity from the waste heat of a fuel cell.

Capstone finished 2008 with a year-end surge because of new rules which streamline the installation of microturbines in New York City, but could easily continue higher, if I am right about distributed generation taking off. The new NYC guidelines could easily be one sign of the beginning of this trend. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised to see a small price retreat in January. It may be wise to wait a couple weeks and see what happens with CPST.


Above analysis excerpted from: 10 Alternative Energy Stocks for 2008



More Renewable Energy Investing links:

WindIntell.com Wind Energy Stocks Investing


Geotherma.info Geothermal Power Investments

Solar Power Stocks, Alternative Energy Companies

No comments:

Search Alternative Energy Investing Websites



WARNING: Investing in common equity of public companies is a high risk, high potential reward activity. Owning investments in individual alternative energy companies is for high risk investors only, and medium risk investors should consider green mutual funds, clean energy funds, renewable power index funds and other sector plays. Even then, these should be owned as part of a widely diversified portfolio. There is a gathering mania for investing in publicly-traded alternative energy companies, similar to the computer, technology, internet and banking / real estate booms of the past two decades. There will be some nasty corrections along the way, and some years from now when they come crashing down en masse, the world will still benefit from all the amazingly advanced clean and efficient energy technology created during the bull run. (Above note re-written March 2009 as my earlier prediction of a market top and a crash in the sector starting in August '09 was hastened by the credit markets collapse and began in August 2008, before the bubble had fully formed. Of all the sectors in the equity markets, clean energy has the best prospects to assume market leadership and public favour; we are bouncing aong the bottom still, and those who have followed our guidance to begin including (in a judiciously blended portfolio of cash, bonds, stocks and yes, um... real estate) green energy investment funds dollar-cost-averaging programs in Winter and Spring of 2009 are well positioned for longterm capital growth.)

Search for renewable energy investing info, find renewable energy investments, clean power mutual funds, wind systems for home, farm, business and cottages, home power generators, photovoltaic solar panels, publicly-listed windpower companies, alternative energy investing, biomass / biofuels research, renewable energy mutual funds, green investments.



Custom Search