Green Energy is Blooming.
Authors:
Tarnowski, Joseph
Source:
Progressive Grocer. Apr2010, Vol. 89 Issue 3, p106-108. 2p. 2 Color Photographs.
Document Type:
Article
Subject Terms:
*TECHNOLOGICAL innovations
*RENEWABLE energy sources
*ELECTRIC power production
SOLID oxide fuel cells
Company/Entity:
BLOOM Energy Corp.
NAICS/Industry Codes:
221112 Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
Abstract:
The article reveals that Bloom Energy Corp. launched the Bloom Energy Server, a patented solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology. The Bloom Energy Server was developed using common beach sand to provide a cleaner, more reliable and more affordable option electric grid and traditional renewable energy sources. It provides distributed power generation to allow customers to efficiently create their own electricity on-site.
Full Text Word Count:
1398
ISSN:
0033-0787
Accession Number:
50221320
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Green Energy is Blooming
Contents
1. Powder to Power: How it Works
2. Sanitized Carts and More
3. Green Clean
4. Green Ice

Equipment
The latest tools of the trade
The Bloom Energy Server may replace the electrical grid with localized -- and clean -- sources of electricity.
What could be one of the most groundbreaking green energy solutions available today may soon be affordable for most retailers to incorporate into their operations.
Bloom Energy Corp., a Silicon Valley-based company committed to changing the way people generate and consume energy, last month launched the Bloom Energy Server, a patented solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology developed using common beach sand to provide a cleaner, more reliable and more affordable alternative to both today's electric grid and traditional renewable energy sources.
What's more, it provides distributed power generation, allowing customers to efficiently create their own electricity on-site.
The startup has already received hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from several venture capital firms, including major investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. John Doerr, a partner at the Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture capital firm, is a Bloom Energy board member, as is Colin Powell, and the company has strong support from California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Walmart, Coca-Cola, eBay and Google are among Bloom's early customers. Walmart has completed Energy Server deployments with 400-kilowatt systems at two Southern California retail locations. "At Walmart, our goal is to be supplied by 100 percent renewable energy," Bill Simon, COO of Walmart U.S., said at Bloom's launch, held last month at eBay headquarters in San Jose, Calif. "To do this, we are considering a number of emerging technologies, including Bloom Energy, to ensure they work for our business, help lower costs for our customers and reduce our impact on the environment. We hope to use our scale to help bring these technologies to market in a fast and cost-effective way."
Built using abundant and affordable materials, Bloom's fuel cell technology is fundamentally different from the legacy "hydrogen" fuel cells most people are familiar with. The Bloom Energy Server is distinct in four primary ways: it uses lower-cost materials, provides strong efficiency in converting fuel to electricity, has the ability to run on a wide range of renewable or traditional fuels, and is more easily deployed and maintained.
And unlike traditional renewable energy technologies like solar and wind, which are intermittent, Bloom's technology can provide renewable power 24/7.
"Bloom Energy is dedicated to making clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world," said Dr. K.R. Sridhar, principal co-founder and CEO of Bloom Energy. "We believe that we can have the same kind of impact on energy that the mobile phone had on communications. Just as cell phones circumvented landlines to proliferate telephony, Bloom Energy will enable the