Building Solar, Hydrogen Power in Your Garage (NJ DIY PV H2 system)

[jpak]

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2592352

The garage has long been used to assemble birdhouses and bookcases, but one resident in Hopewell, N. J., is using his to build something that just might save the planet.

Mike Strizki has engineered a homemade, pollution-free power plant that runs on only sunlight and water to replace the electricity that ran his home.

He has 56 solar panels that produce 10 kilowatts of power — as long as the sun is shining. To get through dark days, he has an electrolyzer to pull hydrogen out of water, which is then stored in large tanks and used for power.

With large white tanks in his yard, Strizki admitted some neighbors asked if he was building the Manhattan project, and he assured them the tanks are safe.

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[phantom power]

1. "The system he built cost $150K which he paid for with a utility grant."

This guy built a $150K power plant -- for private use -- with public money?

[jpak]

2. There is a lot of info missing in that blurb

New Jersey's Clean Energy Program paid for *part* the PV system - the balance of the H2 system was on his own dime...

http://www.njcep.com/html/2_incent.html

[phantom power]

3. I see... That seemed too generous to be real...

Cool system. Shame it costs 3/4 of what I paid for my house.

[jpak]

4. The curse of the early adopters

The system also qualified for NJ's residential fuel cell rebate (first in state - $5 per watt)...

http://www.greenprogress.com/green_building_article.php?id=307

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:sH7k0_Ng1OEJ:solartest.ncsu.edu/research/documents/policy_papers/NHA_Paper.pdf+new+jersey+fuel+cell+rebate&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=8

[hunter]

5. Not so early adopters...

http://www.homepower.com/files/h2homesystem.pdf (52K)

Home Power #39, February/March 1994

Okay, I got my supercomputer, where's my flying car?