(Credit: Bloom Energy)Bloom Energy introduced a new capability for their commercially available electricity generation device, the hydrogen-powered Bloom Energy Server. Now the device can efficiently deliver always-on, 100% renewable electric power with no emissions 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, the company says.
These Energy Servers generate electricity by using natural gas or biogas as fuel, and can run independently of the electrical grid — indefinitely, according to Bloom Energy.
Conventional power plants, including those operating on hydrogen, require extensive space, but the company noted that Bloom Energy Servers can be placed just about anywhere that hydrogen, natural gas, or biogas is available.
“A typical 250kW Energy Server produces enough electricity to power a big box store in an area about the size of a parking space,” Bloom Energy says. “Any number of Energy Servers can be clustered together in various configurations to form solutions from hundreds of kilowatts to many tens of megawatts in a compact footprint.”
During peak times, some countries and US states produce more renewable power than the grid can handle, but lack the ability to store this electricity for more than a few hours, the company points out. Gaps in supply continue to be filled by the combustion of fossil fuels.
“Wildfires, tornados, hurricanes and winter storms cause hundreds of outages every year, with more outages lasting days, not minutes or hours,” the company says. “Now, more than ever, we need power that is renewable, reliable and resilient.”
Currently 25 of the Fortune 100 have deployed Bloom Energy Servers, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by amounts that the company indicates are comparable to zero-emission wind and solar power on an annual basis. The new Energy Servers being shipped starting today can be adapted to run on hydrogen with a system upgrade, the company said.
“Scaling clean and renewable power is critical to reducing the impact of climate change, but we need a combination of flexible and reliable always-on power solutions to get us there,” said KR Sridhar, founder, chairman, and CEO of Bloom Energy.
