Techno-economic and policy requirements for the market-entry of the fuel cell micro-CHP system in the residential sector

This work analyses the impact of different support schemes on the retail price of micro-combined heat and power units based on solid oxide fuel cells in the residential sector. The implications of each incentive toward the technical implementation of the technology are also analyzed. A detailed techno-economic assessment of the micro-combined heat and power unit is provided considering the best-in-class ceramic fuel cell technology and today's costs for gas and electricity in the residential sector. The Italian case study was used to evaluate the impact of different supporting schemes. In order to further extend the validity of our research, scenarios for Germany and Denmark are simulated and discussed. For large-family residential users consuming 9000 kWh of electricity yearly, the retail price that yields a five year pay-back-time - without any incentive - is similar to 2500 (sic). Under the same assumptions, for the average family with a consumption of around 3500 kWh, the required price is similar to 650 (sic). In both cases, a retail price that is four and seven time higher respectively is achieved with the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme of the type currently in use in the United Kingdom. A modified Feed-in Tariff is finally proposed to support on-site consumption rather than generation with export to the grid. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.