Bill exempts non-vehicular fuel cells from sales tax

(Austin, TX) In an effort to promote the use of fuel cells as an energy alternative, State Representative Brian McCall (R - Plano) has filed a bill that proposes eliminating sales taxes associated with the sale, use, or other consumption of nonvehicular fuel cells. As introduced, House Bill 646 hopes to encourage the use of fuel cells as an electricity source thereby increasing electricity efficiency, reducing the number of traditional power consumers and reducing air pollution.

“The discussion on Texas’ energy needs and desires for clean air for future generations starts with property owners acting locally and embracing new technologies that will allow them to power their homes and businesses in non-traditional ways. Fuel cells are one of those ways.” McCall stated.

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water and heat as its by-product. Fuel cells offer clean, high quality, reliable power and are two to three times more efficient than fuel burning. Properly configured fuel cells can achieve up to 99.9% reliability, less than one minute of down time in a six-year period.

“Fuel cells do not require fossil fuels, do not require recharging, and are not reliant on sunlight or wind to produce energy. This increases their attractiveness to me,” McCall said. “Coupled with their reliability, I see fuel cells as a very viable energy source. I hope all Texans will explore the possibility of incorporating the use of fuel cells in powering their homes and looking into other ways in which fuel cells can replace traditional power source uses in their own lives.”

According to published studies, fuel cell use in large-scale building systems, can reduce facility energy costs by 20% to 40% compared to conventional energy sources. The estimated expected pay back period on a residential fuel cell for a typical homeowner is four years.
For more information on fuel cell technology or where to purchase a fuel cell visit www.fuelcells.org.

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