Quick Take: By now, I’m sure you’ve read the predictions that we’ll be living in a world of federated microgrids within a decade or two. Yet many of those predictions gloss over an essential question. What will power those microgrids when the main grid goes down?

Microgrid enthusiasts often imply that renewables plus storage will provide much of the power. But if we examine the UCSD microgrid, one of the nation’s oldest, we learn that natural gas provides most of the power. Yes, it’s cleaner than diesel or coal, but not clean enough for many environmentalists.

If we’re going to use natural gas anyway, there’s a cleaner way to do it. Namely, to pipe it into a fuel cell that can reform it and use it to generate electricity with virtually no emissions. And a recent Navigant Research report concludes that the “booming North American microgrid market offers opportunity for fuel cells. – Jesse Berst

Although some sectors of the fuel cell industry are still moribund, other sectors have seen real progress in the last 18 months. The stationary sector – the one that services microgrids – has seen strong growth, both in prime power and in combined heat and power.

Navigant Research forecast 10 key trends, several of which suggests that fuel cells could become a preferred source of electric power generation for microgrids within the next few years. Those trends include:

• Fuel cells are back on the radar of the skeptical U. S. media
• The stationary sector continues to lead the fuel cell industry
• In the stationary sector, combined heat and power (CHP) is on a path to surpass prime power
• Investors are cautiously coming off the fence in favor of fuel cells

Despite these positive trends, fuel cells continue to face stiff competition from natural gas powered turbines and even from diesel generators.

Jesse Berst is the founder and Chief Analyst of SGN and Chairman of the Smart Cities Council, an industry coalition.