Economics of an MCFC installation

Although the capital cost of an MCFC plant is still higher than conventional equipment of similar power, the high efficiency (hence the lower gas consumption), the low maintenance (no moving parts) and the availability of environmental incentives (green certificates or similar) make MCFC competitive with conventional technology if the comparison is correctly made on the cost of delivered energy.

Schema

Comparative schema of various equipments.

Diesel, mini turbine

Rising cost curve as diesel are required to lower emissions.

Fuel cells

Steep cost recuctions from reduced materials and volume production / Higher capital costs, but higher efficiency, lower O&M, and green incentives.