During last week's blackout, one NYC police precinct still had power...
because they get their electricity from a fuel cell. The precinct is located in Central Park. While fuel cells are still expensive, it was cheaper to put in a natural gas powered fuel cell than to run power lines. Let's hope the cost of this technology comes down fairly quickly. Fuel cells are much quieter and less polluting than gas or diesel generators and probably cheaper to operate (per kilowatt/hour).