Banking on fuel cells. (Solutions).

The First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO), the largest privately owned US bank and the seventh largest credit card manager (3 million transactions a day), can't afford power outages. The loss of power for one hour would cost the bank as much as $6 million in lost revenue. When FNBO built its new 200,000 square-foot technology center in 1999, it installed an 800-kW fuelcell system to power the facility. Even at a cost of $3.4 million, FNBO's Dennis C. Hughes told Business Week, over the course of 20 years, the fuel cell was "the cheapest way to go." The fuel cell generates 40 to 50 percent less greenhouse gas than a grid-connected electrical system and the heat it generates can be used to heat -- and cool -- the building [www.fuelcells.org, www.ballard.com, www.plugpower.com]. For more background, check out Tom Koppel's 30-page report, Fuel Cell Primer [www.bfi.org/news/books].