Data center company Equinix, is installing a 1 MW Bloom Energy biogas fuel cell project at its SV5 International Business Exchange (IBX) data center in Silicon Valley. The deployment of fuel cells supports Equinix's long-term sustainability goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its platform of more than 100 data centers.
The 1 MW Bloom Energy fuel cell will provide an estimated 8.3 million kWh per year, powering a portion of the SV5 data center.
The biogas to fuel the system is methane gas captured from decomposing organic matter such as that from landfills or animal waste. By using biogas Equinix avoids the use of natural gas—a fossil fuel.
The project also includes uninterruptible power modules that are configured to protect a portion of the data center's energy load from electrical outages, reducing reliance on traditional back-up equipment.
