The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has signed up to begintesting 3 KW home fuel cell units which it expects will sweep themarket much like the home computer in just a few years.

BPA has ordered 110 of the energy boxes from Northwest PowerSystems (NPS) of Bend, OR, for installation in the PacificNorthwest. After initial testing of 10 units and modifications, thepower authority will work with local utilities to install 100 inthe homes of interested consumers.

“Over time the efficiency of these and other types ofdistributed generation will make them the choice of consumers,”said BPA Deputy Administrator Jack Robinson. The power units are85% efficient when waste heat is recovered for space and waterheating. The cost of the initial units is about $30,000 each but isexpected to drop to about $10,000 when they become commerciallyavailable in 2002.

But, wait a minute, BPA may be behind the curve. A New YorkState company is pushing its new invention, the Static FieldConverter, which uses magnets to create energy. The Andrew AbolafiaCo. of Granville, NY, said the “safe, virtually infinite,environmentally benign and economically viable new source ofenergy….makes fossil fuels (as well as their derivatives, i.e.fuel cells) obsolete.” The inventor claims the converter can beused as a substitute for fossil fuels in any application – frompowering electric vehicles to heating homes, running factories andfueling plants. The invention is an electrical device forefficiently transforming the energy of a stationary magnetic fieldinto useful electrical energy. You may view the patent and designof the converter at https://inventor1-y2k.com.

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