By Gus Block, Marketing Director
Nuvera Fuel Cells
While Bill Mitchell was living it up at the National Hydrogen Association (NHA) Annual Conference near California’s wine country on Sunday, describing how the hydrogen future is here and now, Jim Rubright of East Penn Manufacturing, Danielle Andre and I were performing yeoman’s (and woman’s) duty at the Edison Electric Institute National Accounts Workshop at Disney World in Orlando. A tough job, but as the saying goes, somebody’s got to do it.
Unlike the NHA meeting, where talk of early markets for hydrogen and fuel cells is a bit like feeding red meat to the lions, few attendees at the Edison Electric event have any idea that fuel cell technology is here today and that it can help their organizations save money, reduce their carbon footprint, and help their distribution and manufacturing operations become more productive. But all of these are opportunities that relate directly to the topics and challenges being discussed and brainstormed here.
Many of the people that come to this well-attended annual workshop program are energy managers for major retailers, such as Nordstrom’s, Wal-Mart, and SuperValu. These are the individuals who are responsible for monitoring energy consumption within their corporations and for finding ways of conserving energy and switching to cleaner sources of power. One of the things I learned from the first full day of the workshop was what jacks-of-all-trade they need to be. They face a huge array of energy-related issues that requires familiarity with complex energy supply and demand issues and trends, regulatory codes and standards, and thousands of technologies and programs that are designed to improve energy efficiency.
On the supply side, a major theme of this conference is that utilities need to learn how to design energy efficiency programs that are customer-friendly. During a session I attended entitled, “What National Accounts Customers Really Want from Utility Incentive Programs,” a major complaint that surfaced from customers was how difficult it is for energy managers at the corporate level to sort out the requirements of local utility programs. Easing paperwork requirements and standardizing on qualifications and rules was a common theme that surfaced.
While a great deal of energy is consumed in the material handling operations of any Big Box retailer, their energy buyers are generalists who may have little direct experience with the forklifts and warehouses within their own companies. Perhaps that is why we got more than a few quizzical looks from passersby in the exhibit hall, where East Penn and Nuvera were showing off our fuel cell-powered lift trucks and hydrogen refueling dispenser – equipment that may be unlike any attendees here have seen before. It was up to Danielle, Jim and I to make the connection between fuel cells and the issues of concern to them. For those energy professionals who were sufficiently intrigued to stop and chat with us, their interest was piqued – for some, you could almost see the wheels beginning to turn inside their heads. We’re hoping to hear from more than a few of them once we all return home from the Magic Kingdom.
