Bloom fuel cells tested by Target chain

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Discount chain Target is testing Bloom fuel cells at two of its California stores.

Site work is under way on a  Bloom  manufacturing plant at the University of Delaware STAR Campus, the former Chrysler plant.

According to a company release, one store in San Francisco and another in Pasadena, are testing out Bloom fuel cells that convert natural gas into electricity.

The fuel cells are a cleaner source of power than coal or conventional natural gas plants and can run on renewable fuels such as gas from landfills, an item posted on the company’s website noted.

Target reported that the fuel cells provide back-up power that could prove lucrative by allowing the store to stay open and not lose perishable items.

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Like rival Walmart, Target is also looking at solar panels and currently has systems in place at more than two dozen stores. Target is also testing the Bloom cells.

“A typical Target store has energy needs during the day that can be significantly met by solar energy produced by solar panels on the roof,” explains Dave Hughes, group manager of Target’s Energy & Carbon Management team in Minneapolis. “So consider this: If we were to combine daytime solar generation with fuel cell energy powering the store’s additional energy needs, we’d approach a facility that runs on 100 percent self-generated power.”

The entry from Target says “it’s all still just a theory, but Dave and his team believe that the potential for innovation is worth the investment. If these first fuel cell pilots are successful, the team will look to expand the pilot to stores on the East Coast, particularly those prone to power outages.”

“You never know unless you test out an idea, and it never hurts to dream big,” Hughes said.

Bloom has made inroads in hits home state of California with fuel cells at many of its top technology companies. The state has generous incentives for operating Bloom and other energy systems and the company has a program that amounts to a lease for the fuel cells, eliminating the capital cost that can run $800,000, according to some reports.

Bloom is operating fuel cells at a Delmarva Power site in northern Delaware that feed power into the grid. Delmarva customers pay a surcharge for the additional power costs. Other fuel

Another large Bloom fuel cell installation is taking place at a massive data center operated by Apple Inc. in North Carolina.

Critics of Bloom claim the fuel cells remain far more expensive and point to the company’s secrecy in revealing details on its technology.  Bloom has claimed that new generations of fuel cells are more efficient.

 

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