CenturyLink, Inc. will install Bloom Energy fuel cells to generate up to 500 kilowatts of power at one of its California data centers. The news comes as Bloom plans to give guests a peek at its new manufacturing site in Newark.
The fuel cells, expected to produce nearly 4.4 million kilowatt-hours annually and will help power cloud, managed hosting and co-location services housed within the data center, located in Irvine and operated by Savvis, a CenturyLink company.
California offers incentives for installation of Bloom fuel cells. The cells are now seen as a reliable source of back-up power for data centers that are critical to many industries.
“We must explore our energy alternatives to support advancements in technology and the escalating demand for network and IT infrastructure,” said David Meredith, senior vice president and global general manager for Savvis. “Bloom’s clean fuel cells offer a way for businesses like CenturyLink to promote the continuing evolution of technology without sacrificing their sustainability commitments. ”
The project will help CenturyLink avoid approximately one million pounds of CO2 emissions annually and significantly reduce other emissions, according to a CenturyLink release.
The configuration enables CenturyLink to receive primary power for its critical loads from Bloom Energy Servers, protecting those loads from electrical outages without the need for backup UPS and generator systems.
“Bloom Energy is excited to work with CenturyLink in helping it achieve its corporate sustainability goals,” said Peter Gross, vice president of mission critical systems at Bloom Energy. “This project highlights CenturyLink’s long-term vision, and Bloom Energy is excited to be contributing to a new model for data center design and operation that is cleaner and more reliable than the conventional architecture.”
The Bloom system will go into full operation in early to mid-2014.
Bloom operates a manufacturing site in Newark. An opening ceremony for the plant is slated for Oct. 16th. Bloom servers have also been installed in Delaware under a program that helps Delmarva Power meet alternative energy standards. On hand will be CEO Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar, along with government and University of Delaware officials. The plant was built on the University of Delaware STAR Campus, the former site of the Chrysler plant.
The program has come under attack, due to the higher costs of the alternative energy source. Thanks to lower electric supply prices and the added costs of operating the Bloom cells, Delmarva Power customers are paying $4 a month above market rates, according to Delaware Public Service Commission figures.
Lousiana-based CenturyLink has emerged as one of the nation’s largest telecom and data companies after purchasing USWest, the smallest of the so called “Baby Bells” that were spun off from the old AT&T.
