It's sure to be a hit this week at the first annual International Hydrogen Energy Implementation Conference, where the fueling station will be on display Thursday and Friday. The unit is said to produce 2 kilograms of hydrogen per day and store up to
6 kilograms.
More than a year ago, Robert Plarr built Angel's Nest Retreat in Taos. It's an off-the-grid, self-sustaining building with a rain forest to boot.
"New Mexico is blessed to have the most advanced building in the world that we're going to use as a model for all homes in the country from here on, in off-grid situations," he said in a recent interview.
Conference attendees will be able to tour Angel's Nest, located across the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge from Taos, Saturday or Sunday, even before the public does.
For now, Angel's Nest will be an educational center. Plarr said he might develop the place as an overnight retreat for guests.
"Right now I'm just bringing people in to experience it so we can start constructing them around the world immediately," he said.
New Mexico is an earth, wind and fire kind of place. And Plarr's resort takes advantage of the elements. His 8,000-square-foot dream home uses biofuel, and wind and solar energy. His windmills are shaped like DNA strands in the human body.
Angel's Nest doesn't rely on fossil fuels. Instead, it recycles solar and wind power.
"We're the only building in the world that will produce our own energy with free-range hydrogen," Plarr said. "We take solar and wind power that is normally thrown away during the day, and we capture it as hydrogen."
He uses the energy for nighttime power at the resort and to fuel his collection of hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Plarr calls Angel's Nest the best insurance policy against natural disasters and terrorist attacks. It provides its own energy, its own water and its own food.
"You have no other needs," Plarr said. "You don't have to worry about the outside world."