Power in a box

Mike Upp, vice president of marketing for ClearEdge Power, demonstrates a ClearEdge fuel cell recently installed at Stone Edge Farm in Sonoma. The 5-kilowatt unit, roughly the size of a refrigerator, will save the organic farm and vineyard about 49 percent on its electricity bill, while removing 24,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the environment annually. The cost savings to the winery over 20 years is estimated at $250,000. The unit converts natural gas into hydrogen-rich gas that combines with oxygen to produce electricity and heat. Besides powering the winery, the fuel cell will be used to heat the estate's swimming pool.

Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune