Equinix, Inc., the global interconnection and data center company, and Bloom Energy announced a one megawatt biogas fuel cell project at its SVS International Business Exchange in the Silicon Valley in California.
The deployment of fuel cells supports Equinix’s goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its global platform of more than 100 data centers. California offers incentives for the use of Bloom cells. Bloom is also based in the Silicon Valley.
Video rental company Netflix recently confirmed that it uses the Equinix data center where the Bloom fuel cell is be located. The video rental giant says it supports the efforts of data center partners in using renewables.
The Bloom fuel cell will use biogas from landfills or animal waste. Most Bloom fuel cells use natural gas.
Equinix gets approximately 30 percent of its global energy from clean, renewable sources. Over time, Equinix plans to deliver on its long-term goal of using 100 percent clean and renewable energy by using fuel cells or solar panels, power purchase agreements, utility renewable energy programs, renewable energy credits and carbon offsets.
Most Bloom fuel cells are assembled at the company’s Newark site.
The fuel cells have been used by many Fortune 500 companies on an experimental basis. However, widespread deployments have been rare. In Delaware, JPMorgan Chase has agreed to install the Bloom system.
Under an agreement that brought the Bloom plant to Delaware, dozens of Bloom energy servers feed electric power into the grid.
