Another top tier customer for Bloom:
AT&T partners with Bloom Energy
By Jeremy C. Owens
jowens@mercurynews.com
Posted: 07/12/2011 09:40:33 AM PDT
Updated: 07/12/2011 09:48:32 AM PDT
Bloom Energy's fuel-cell technology will soon help power 11 California facilities for telecommunications giant AT&T.
AT&T announced its partnership with the Sunnyvale clean energy company Tuesday, explaining that the switch to Bloom's technology will help the facilities cut approximately 50 percent if their carbon dioxide emissions.
"AT&T is committed to finding more sustainable ways to power our business operations. ... Bloom Energy provided us with a solution that was not only cost comparable but also allows us to minimize environmental impact," AT&T Director of Energy John Schinter said in the news release.
Each Bloom Energy Server -- commonly known as "Bloom Boxes" -- provides 100 kilowatts of power, enough to meet the energy needs of a small office building. Within each device are thousands of fuel cells that are sandwiched into stacks.
Four of the facilities that will receive Bloom Boxes are in the Bay Area: San Jose, Hayward, Redwood City and San Ramon. The other seven are mostly located in Southern California: Corona, Fontana, Pasadena, Rialto, San Bernardino and San Diego.
The technology is expected to produce more than 62 million kWh of energy every year, which AT&T said in its news release would be enough to power more than 5,600 homes.
"Bloom Energy and AT&T's collaborative efforts are sure to make an impact throughout their facilities in California," Bill Thayer, Bloom Energy's executive vice president of sales and service, said in the release.
Bloom Energy officially launched in early 2010 and has more than 700 full-time employees worldwide, most of whom work in Sunnyvale. Bloom's customers include Adobe Systems (ADBE), California Institute of Technology, Google (GOOG), eBay (EBAY) and the operator of the public ice rink where the San Jose Sharks practice.
The companies expect to begin installing the Bloom Boxes later this year and have them running by mid-2012.
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