Large ‘Silicone Valley’ corporations have been testing a new device created to generate power on the spot, without being connected to the electric grid. After almost a decade of development and hundreds of millions in investment, Bloom Energy is coming out with theirs having unveiled their little “power plant-in-a-box” on 60-minutes aired Sunday, February 21. Until now, all journalists were able to garner were “no comments” from their marketing people.
During the show, Bloom’s founder and CEO K.R. Sridhar showed Lesley Stahl one of the boxes, explaining that one box could power an average U.S. home, the two put together is a U.S. home. “Because we use twice as much energy?” Stahl asked. “Yes, and this’ll power four Asian homes,” he replied. “So four homes in India, your native country?” Stahl asked. “Four to six homes in our country,” Sridhar replied.
The “Bloom-Box” will allow you to generate your own electricity and it’ll be wireless. The idea is to one day replace the big power plants and transmission line grid, the way the laptop moved in on the desktop and cell phones supplanted landlines and has a lot of smart people behind it, including the financial backing of the same folks that got behind Netscape, Amazon, Google, and several other multi-million-dollar ventures – John Dore at Kleiner-Perkins.
The main ingredient? Grains of beach sand baked and cut into thin sheets and coated on both sides with a secret “ink compound” stacked in between a cheap metal alloy powered by a biogas Sridhar had developed over the past ten years.
Sridhar insists all the materials are cheap and available in abundance. Each large box — which can power about 100 homes — currently sells for $700-800,000 and predict that within five to 10 years to roll out a smaller home version for about $3,000 a unit. As Stahl said, “In the world of energy, the Holy-Grail is to create a power source that’s inexpensive and clean, with no emissions.”
If you missed this electrifying news, we now know that Bloom has on their board of directors none other than former Secretary of State, retired 4-star General Colin Powell. Current customers with existing units powering their corporate buildings include eBay, Google, FedEx, Wal-Mart, Staples… and it’s rumored, the CIA.
Backlog and sales may be in the $2 billion range and the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission has granted Google Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the search giant, the right to behave like a utility. Their first 100-kilowatt unit went to Google and the operating Google fuel cell installation is 400 kilowatts. To watch the entire segment, go to this link.
The Bloom box is a 6th generation fuel cell. There are two high temperature fuel cells that are respectively the fourth and fifth generation. These are the Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell and the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell. The Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell has many existing installations.
Although the upfront costs are steep, the green technology tax credit is 30 percent and there is no cap on their cost through 2016. The 25D Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Fuel Cell Tax Credit for renewable energy products provides larger incentives for installing small wind energy systems and fuel cells, geothermal heat pumps, solar panels, and solar hot water heaters… and combining various tax credits, including an additional 20 percent for energy conservation, makes these units pay for themselves… eBay claims they saved over $100,000 in the first year.
Homeowners now can claim up to $1,500 in expanded energy-efficiency tax credits for remodeling their principal residence to reduce energy consumption. Available until the end of 2010, the revamped 25C Existing Home Retrofit Tax Credit helps consumers save on their renovation costs and utility bills. The expanded federal tax credit refunds 30 percent of the product replacement cost, up to a total of $1500. In some cases, installation costs may also be applied to claim the tax credit. And home owners may be able to combine federal tax credits with Local and Regional incentives to maximize savings and Puget Sound Energy offers many rebate options to help homeowners save energy or even contribute to the grid.
As reported in January’s column (Olympic College can help you Get your Energy ON), federal stimulus funding programs to address our energy challenges have been made available through the U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE) in both formula grants given to cities, counties and the states, and recently, as weatherization grants for low-income households.
In January, it was announced that Olympic College (OC) will share $3.9 million in federal funds through the Department of Labor to help train and place at least 473 people in energy efficiency occupations. Participants will earn industry-recognized certificates in residential energy audits, building operator and OSHA safety. The target population includes youth (ages 18 through 21), dislocated workers, incumbent workers, veterans, women and individuals with disabilities.
The grant was awarded to the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council with several partners, including OC, to implement the Sound Energy Efficiency Development (SEED) project through the regional partnership of employers, Workforce Development Councils, labor organizations, community and technical colleges such as OC, and OneStop Career Centers. The SEED program will provide training and job placement assistance in energy efficiency assessment occupations. The program will update curriculum based on industry guidance, expand training capacities, and utilize a Green Jobs Navigator to share industry trends and job opportunities.
The Olympic Consortium’s award is a joint effort by the Olympic Workforce Development Council, Olympic College, and Peninsula College. It comes from a larger Puget Sound regional grant coordinated by Workforce Development Councils with colleges in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. The lead agency for the Puget Sound Area grant is the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) and the Olympic Consortium will manage $525,634. The funds will be subcontracted to service providers including Olympic College and Peninsula College to provide occupational training in Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap Counties.
Occupational training will be in energy efficient-construction, home weatherization and building retrofits, and energy efficiency assessment (energy audits). The program will also update curriculum based on industry guidance, expand training capacities and utilize a Green Jobs Navigator to share industry trends and job opportunities.
For more information on OC’s programs and educational opportunities, contact Amy Hatfield, Dean of Workforce Development, phone 360-475-7264, or ahatfield [at] olympic [dot] edu.
