Fuel cell and renewable sources of power generation-a review

Abstract

The requirement of electricity is increases day by day due to the increased population and growing economy. Major portion of electricity is still produced from the fossil fuel-based power plants. These plants are emitting harmful gases into the environment like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, oxides of Sulphur, particulate matter, etc. There are two major sources responsible for green house effects viz. Transportation sector and power sector. It has been estimated that the electricity requirement would be increased from 25,883.46 trillion Watthour to 44,247.26 trillion Watthour during 2020 to 2050. For the fulfillment of electricity requirement without emitting harmful emissions and greenhouse gases, attention should be more focused on renewable power plants. The efficiency of various renewable sources like hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and fuel cell are 60%, 20%, 36.4%, 30% and 60% respectively. Solid oxide fuel cell has emerged as a decent option with 60-65% efficiency as standalone system while as hybrid/combined system the efficiency can reach as high as 90-95% without producing any major emissions.