Is Bloom Energy’s Bloom Box, Really A Better Power Alternative?

“Bloom box,” and “Bloom Energy” are currently among the trending searches and hot topics on the Internet. As of this writing, several sites have reported on the benefits of the Bloom Box (also known as Bloom Energy Server), a fuel cell product peddled by Bloom Energy. The rise in searches for this product and its company could be related to the administration’s drive for clean energy sources.

In August 28, MSNBC ran a feature on fuel cells. It had a thing or two to say about Bloom Box and Bloom Energy. The product, it said, has generated “excitement” among experts of the energy industry. MSNBC reported, “It’s generated electricity as well, in pilot projects at places ranging from eBay to Safeway.” As a clean energy, fuel cell product, “the Bloom Energy’s 100-kilowatt “server” converts natural gas and air into electricity, producing water and carbon dioxide in the process (CH4+2O2 is turned into 2H2O+CO2),” the report noted.

MSNBC noticed two “worrisome factors” about the Bloom Box: that it is powered by natural gas, which is still a fossil fuel, and that it still manages to emit carbon dioxide. The report did mentioned that the Bloom Energy fuel cell product’s “energy conversion factor (50 percent efficiency or better) compares with the best rates for gas-fired power plants” and, “the carbon footprint is not as great as it would be for a gas-fired plant.”

In March this year, BNet featured a story on the Sunnyvale, California-based Bloom Energy which was able to raise $400 million at that time. The story mentioned Colin Powell as a board member and that Bloom Box endorsers include California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and venture capitalist John Doerr of Kleiner, Perkins Caulfield and Byers. BNet also mentioned companies supporting the clean energy device which included Wal-Mart, eBay, FedEx, Coca-Cola, Google, Lockheed and Staples.

A 100kW Bloom Box fuel cell currently costs between $700,000 to $800,000 with a reported three-to-five-year payback. Bloom Energy hopes to mass produce home-sized units of the fuel cell product and sell each for under $3000. Company CEO K.R. Sridhar told The New York Times that when using natural gas, his devices are making cheaper electricity at 8–10 cents/kWh, which is lower than current electricity rates in some parts of the country, such as California.

John Doerr, who has a large investment in Bloom Energy and sits on its board, insists that the Bloom Box fuel cell produces clean energy and is cheaper than the grid. Still there are a number of skeptics. Early in the year, Jonathan Fahey of Forbes said, “Are we really falling for this again? Every clean tech company on the planet says it can produce clean energy cheaply, yet not a single one can. Government subsidies or mandates keep the entire worldwide industry afloat… Hand it to Bloom, the company has managed to tap into the hype machine like no other clean tech company in memory.”

Source: Carlo Gabriel Simbajon, ALL247NEWS.COM