Plug Power Inc. (Latham, NY) and partner Vaillant GmbH have installed 13 proton-exchange membrane fuel cell heating appliances during the past three months in multi-family homes and small businesses in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Luxemburg. The systems are supporting both Vaillant customers and the Commission of the European Union's Virtual Power Plant Program, with fuel cell heating appliances that produce up to 9kW of heat and 4.6kW of electricity to multi-family homes and small businesses.
The Virtual Power Plant Program envisions a networked collection of fuel cells connected to the electric grid that can be monitored and controlled from a central control facility and operated according to the demands of the electric grid system. Peak shaving, or the ability to reduce total demand on the utility grid by utilizing on-site generation, is a significant area of interest in this program. Over the next year, a total of 44 systems are expected to be installed throughout Europe by Vaillant.
