Future Cost of Natural Gas Fueled Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Power Systems

摘要

Work undertaken by PNNL shows that, with improved stack life and at high production volumes, a natural gas fueled solid oxide fuel cell (NGSOFC) could be an attractive alternative for electricity generation. The analysis resulted from a cost model developed for a 270kW NGSOFC power system suitable for distributed generation and from estimated costs of alternative generating technologies. Assuming a future high production volume of 10,000 NGSOFC systems per year and an improved stack life of 15 years, the estimated levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is ￠6.9/kWh (Table 1). The estimated LCOE is based on an installed capital cost of $400/kW and a commercially delivered retail price of natural gas of $8.69/MMBtu. The NGSOFC LCOE is competitive with grid-scale natural gas combined cycle generation, using wholesale natural gas ($4.50/MMBtu), even when the benefits of distributed generation are not included. We also estimated the LCOE for a 250kW natural gas microturbine based on overnight capital costs. Although the capital cost was lower than for NGSOFC, the relatively low electrical conversion efficiency (26% HHV) drove the LCOE to 015.7/kWh~2.