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Read the rest of this articleBloom Energy box is proof that our needs are manageable with technology
Bloom Energy has enjoyed a burst of buzz with the unveiling of its Bloom Energy Server product, which essentially puts fuel cells to work generating electricity by combining natural gas or biogas with oxygen. The company claims a 2 to 1 efficiency over traditional power companies and puts energy production on the properties business owners. That certainly doesn’t render the existing power grid obsolete, and established power companies may actually stand to gain from the Bloom Energy Server.
How? Right now each Bloom Energy Server is in the price range of $700,000 to $800,000. The company has referenced a $3,000 version for consumer use but that’s 10 years down the road and seems all but certain. That means power companies may purchase Bloom Energy Servers and install them at substations, using the existing grid to distribute electricity. Despite its steep initial cost, the Bloom Energy Server has greater implications; our current consumption of electricity is tenable given the right technology.
Changing human behavior to use less energy and fewer products is possible but it goes against our common desire to enjoy convenience, entertainment and security. That’s a fundamental tension that the green movement creates because it asks people to give up things the enjoy or perceive as a need. Can you give up that car in favor of a bus trip? Sure. Read a book (or eBook reader even) instead of turning on that power hungry LCD widescreen TV? Sure. But most people don’t want to!
The alternative to changing human behavior then becomes accommodating existing habits through the use of new technology and the Bloom Energy Server is a good sign that it’s very possible.
That said the technology is new and relatively untested in the larger picture. Several companies like Bank of America, Coca Cola and FedEx are piloting the product but larger scale and longer timeframe testing is necessary before we’ll know if the Bloom Energy Server is as reliable as a coal power plant.
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Comments
a product marketing launch is hardly proof.
ALso, reading serveal articles found that Bloom has already stated it is not a true carbon nutral option as it does in fact produce considerable Carbon Dioxide depending on your fuel. But there were some comments about feeding it electricity as a fuel which make me wonder how real this thing is and how much is hype. Plus in the gvien corporate examples they talk about savings amount for a 9 month period on electricity but no one has given the cost figures for natural gas that was used. If that went up significantly enough you may not have a net savings at all, and long term you would have to consider what would an extra load on natural gas supplies do to costs.
With the help of technology we can manage the energy requirement more effeciently as proved by the Bloom Energy. Changing human behavior and the new technology can achieve the desired result of meeting energy demand. Small Storage Boxes
$3000 version for the customers sounds a good deal. It's good to see technology becoming greener these days and we as responsible citizens needs to start doing our little bit towards conserving energy. Global events like "Earth Hour" should be often observed and also ponder and act on how not to waste energy. The Bloom Energy Box doesn't sound like a hype to me.
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