Two Dinuba firms rely on fuel cells

Two major companies in Dinuba are using fuel cells to generate power with nearly no pollution, joining a growing cadre of California businesses with their eyes on both the environment and their bottom line.

Odwalla's system is one of an estimated 18 stationary fuel-cell power projects installed at businesses across California last year, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Breakthrough Technologies Institute. That's more than were built in 2007, 2008 and 2009 combined, the institute reports.

Different fuel-cell technologies are powering sewage-treatment plants, jails, casinos, hotels, offices and other businesses across the state.

In the Valley, a system at the city of Tulare's wastewater facility is using gas from the plant's digesters to produce electricity. A natural-gas system was installed in 2004 at the former Guarantee Savings building in downtown Fresno. And a Kerman telephone company is using small hydrogen-powered fuel cells to provide backup power at some of its rural substations.

Government is as well doing what it can -- including offering financial incentives -- to encourage businesses to install more fuel cells and other more-efficient, less-polluting power systems, said Dimitri Stanich, a public information officer with the California Air Resources Board.

The electricity landscape

"Businesses can alter the electricity landscape, because smaller power-generating fuel cells can be distributed throughout the state," Stanich said. "That will diminish the vulnerabilities of having a single source of electricity."

The state's Self-Generation Incentive Program is one tool California has to promote businesses to produce their own electricity. Last year, the program offered one-time rebates of $4.50 for each watt of power produced by fuel-cell systems using renewable fuels, or $2.50 for each watt from non-renewable sources just as natural gas.

Gov. Jerry Brown wants businesses to continue to increase the amount of power they generate for themselves, Stanich said. "It's slowly developing into a more widespread effort as research advances."