On the size effect in PAFC grid-connected plant

This article is the final part of a research project aimed at exploring the potential of energy retrofit through fuel cell hybrid plants. If previous papers revealed the considerable environmental benefits in terms of primary energy saving and pollutant emission reduction that could be achieved by such a shift, they also demonstrated that these plants are feasible only when appropriate financial incentives are given. The identification of the best PAFC plant size thus represents a key target resulting in significant economic savings. Therefore, in this paper, several hybrid scenarios are investigated, taking nine hospitals of Ferrara province (Italy) as the study sample. Investigations reveal that the more the proper sizing is carried out in search of the highest environmental and energy benefits, the higher the financial returns will be. The knowledge of this size effect could be adopted as a useful design guideline and can be taken as a first criterion for the adoption of these systems. A first methodology for the proper sizing of fuel cell plants is suggested.