Is the Bloom Box Energy Server the Future of Plug and Play Electricity?

After 8 years in stealth mode, Bloom Energy has finally revealed all about its Bloom Box fuel cell device (AKA the Bloom Energy Server). We already learned a lot from Sunday's 60 Minutes segment on the device, and our interview with eBay executive Amy Szoczlas Cole revealed even more. Here's what
we learned from today's press conference at eBay headquarters.

The Bloom Energy fuel cell is essentially a flat piece of sand made from a process dubbed "Powder to Power." The cell can run on a variety of fuels, including traditional fuel, natural gas, biomass gas,
landfill gas, and ethanol--all without the need to use complex chemical plants for processing. A single cell-filled Bloom Box provides 100 kW of power and has a 3 to 5 year payback period with fixed costs for 10years. Any piece of the device that isn't working can be swapped out without bringing down the whole thing.

The Bloom Energy Server is twice as efficient compared to the standard electric grid for two reasons, according to the just-unveiled Bloom Web site: "Bloom's unmatched efficiency in converting fuel to electricity means that our systems produce significantly more electricity for the same fuel costs. Second, our ability to generate the electricity on-site eliminates the need for costly transmission and distribution infrastructure." According to an article in the New York Times, Bloom devices can produce power at 8 to 10 cents per kWh using natural gas--lower than some commercial electricity prices, but remember: natural gas isn't a renewable resource. So far, Bloom has partnered with eBay, Coca-Cola, Walmart, FedEx, Staples, Google, Bank of America, and Cox Enterprises. Bloom Energy founder K.R. Sridhar says that Bloom has powered over 11 million kWh and cut 14 million pounds of CO2 since installing the pilot devices.
Coke says that its Bloom Box is already powering a third of an Odwalla plant, and Cox claims that its four units at KTVU in San Francisco power 70% of the facility. Walmart's units power 60% to 80% of the energy needs in the buildings where they are installed, while Google is using a unit to power an R&D center. Continue reading...via Fast Company