Our project is well on its way through three weeks. The thought of putting an actual hydrogen fuel cell into a home in six months sounded a bit farfetched, but after doing some extensive research, the possibilities seem endless. Fuel cells in general are new and unknown to most people including our group working on this project so a lot of background knowledge had to be attained. This includes how a fuel cells works, where any are located, and companies that manufacture them. To an even greater extent, cost has to be researched as well as building codes and restrictions that may hinder the installation of this new technology in a residency. All of these aspects, and possibly more, need to be taken into account when thinking about the main goal, which in essence, is to have fuel cells in every home in Highlands Ranch, Colorado that is supported by the Energy City of Highlands Ranch. To smooth this long and rigorous process along, we decided to create a business plan to map out the plans for the future. However, this week we split the workload into three parts that need further research. Our assignments are to investigate the detailed aspects of building codes and restrictions, how to get money for a fuel cell through grants and other funds, and also where to get a fuel cell in Colorado.

So if you aren’t from Highlands Ranch, CO then you probably don’t know what a senior project is.  Basically it is a graduation requirement for seniors at ThunderRidge in which we plan a project (ie. a fundraiser, shadow a professional, learn something new, etc.) , write a research paper, and present all the work we did to a panel of judges who either pass or fail us.  It is a lot of pressure.  A group of nine students have come together, with the help of Steve Taraborelli and Wilbur Samashema, to complete a project that will help make the community of Highlands Ranch an energy based city by the year 2020.  The nine of us are split into groups to work on smaller projects that make the ultimate goal possible.  Myself and two other students, who will also be writing on this blog, are in charge of the fuel cell portion of the project.  We had our first real meeting on Tuesday the 3rd of November to discuss what we will be accomplishing.  Our plan is to find a company from which we could buy a fuel cell and install it into a home in Highlands Ranch.  We have to determine whether or not it is legal to have a home fuel cell in Colorado, find a company to sell us one, and somehow get the money it will cost to purchase it.  We have our work cut out for us.  So, that is the basics of our project and we will be writing weekly to keep everyone updated on our progress.