Brooks Residential Fuel Cell Demonstration
Essential "Historical Data" Instructions

The first time you visit the site you will need to go through an intermediate page, but subsequently you will go directly to the data site managed by Connected Energy.

Some browsers may drop you into a login page. If this happens, simply enter:

user: publicaccess
password: cp<4hl

Once you see the map of Texas, you can click on the "Go To" button, then "Brooks Air Force Base", then "Site Overview". The Go To button is your navigation tool to view the various screens available.

Any variable in blue can be graphed versus time by clicking on it. Once in a graph screen you can vary the times displayed and much more by changing variables and then clicking "Go". Exit the graph by closing the window.

Southwest Research Institute, under a contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers demonstrated three 5 kW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells at Brooks City-Base in San Antonio, Texas during the period, February 6, 2003 through March 15, 2004.

The fuel cells, provided under the contract by Plug Power Inc. were fueled with natural gas and supplemented the power to three individual base housing units at Brooks. The units were grid connected and did not supply heat for any combined heat and power application. Other partners in the demonstration were City Public Service of San Antonio and St. Philips College.

The PEM fuel cells, in concert with natural gas reformers, converted natural gas directly into electricity cleanly, and in an almost silent manner.

The primary objective of the project was to install, operate, maintain, monitor, and report data on the fuel cells to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Secondary objectives included:

  1. Familiarization of Brooks personnel (and other military installations in the San Antonio area) with fuel cell technology,

  2. Demonstrate the potential of environmentally friendly electric generation technologies to City Public Service customers,

  3. Providing the basis for a fuel cell education program for St. Philips College,

  4. Providing product feedback to Plug Power for their fuel cell operating in the San Antonio climate,

  5. Demonstrate fuel cell technology to the San Antonio populace through articles, TV spots, and internet access.

The demonstration period was one year, beginning February 6, 2003 and ending March 15, 2004. The fuel cells were grid connected, meaning that the City Public Service electric grid provided additional power to the housing units if the electric load exceeded the capacity of the fuel cell or if the fuel cell went off-line.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) /Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) is located in Champaign, Illinois and manages a number of fuel cell activities including:

  • PAFC Demonstration Program -The largest demonstration of phosphoric acid fuel cell power plants in the United States. Thirty 200 kW power plants located at DoD facilities have operated more than 670,000 total hours.

  • Residential Demonstration Program - PEM fuel cells, ranging in size from 2-5 kW, are being demonstrated at DoD facilities. The Brooks Residential Fuel Cell Demonstration project is part of this effort.

  • Fuel Cell Test & Evaluation Center - A world class testing facility for fuel cell power plant and component research and development.

  • Climate Change Rebate Program - A DoD based incentive program to assist with the deployment of fuel cell power plants throughout the world.

  • Research & Development Program - A number of fuel cell technology development programs aimed at fostering successful fuel cell development.

For more information on these programs please visit www.dodfuelcell.com

Southwest Research Institute provided project management and coordination between partners, facilitated training activities, implemented a web-based link to the units, monitored and recorded data on the fuel cells and reported to the Army Corps of Engineers.

City Public Service of San Antonio provided installation, maintenance, coordination, interconnect and code compliance for the project. City Public Service gained practical experience in the installation and operation of fuel cells and is using that knowledge to determine how fuel cells and distributed generation may benefit their customers.

St. Philips College participated in the project and planned to have students and/or faculty be part of maintenance operator training and data collecting activities during the one year demonstration. St. Philips viewed the project as an opportunity to give students and faculty hands on experience in the area of fuel cell technology. In addition, this project was to serve as a template for infusing Advanced Energy Technologies into existing curriculum as part of St. Philips Energy Solutions Park Initiative.

Brooks City-Base personnel were instrumental in siting, utility considerations, and providing liaison between project personnel and the personnel in base housing.

The U.S. Air Force graciously allowed the use of three base housing units to document actual housing demand.

Connected Energy Corporation operateed the data-acquisition hardware and software and databases the information from the fuel cells.

At the completion of the demonstration, Plug Power donated the fuel cells to St. Philips College, Texas State Technical College, and Lamar University. A final report is in preparation. Historical data on the project is available under the "Historical Data" banner in the sidebar at the top of this page.

View the Fuel Cell Demonstration photo gallery.

For information, contact Mr. Joe Redfield, Group Leader for fuel cell systems at SwRI at (210) 522-3729.