Big fuel cell claims to be better than all the rest
But customers seem to be in it for the major tax breaks and PR so far…
This seems cool:
A Silicon Valley firm has unveiled a device that it says could revolutionize the way that we produce and consume electricity.
The Bloom Energy Server, publicly shown for the first time on February 24, mixes gas and air to produce electricity via a clean chemical reaction. Originally developed to provide power on Mars, the invention could soon be powering our homes, dramatically reducing our reliance on the fossil-fuel powered electricity grid for energy.
But a few things concern me… First, their website doesn’t really explain how it works. Second, it is littered with “sustainable” and “green” and “environment” which usually means “please subsidize me”. And third, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Colin Powell were at the unveiling.
Bloom claims they will have a device that costs $3,000 and can power a house in 10 years:
The scientists behind the project hope that a pint sized version of the Bloom Energy Server could soon make its way into the home. At its launch, Bloom Energy boss Dr. KR Sridhar showed a brick sized device that he claimed could power a house. The firm reportedly aims to make these available for less than $3,000 (€2213), although Sridhar warned that domestic applications such as powering electric vehicles and mixing with solar energy could take another ten years.
10 years is essentially forever. So, it may be real, but I’ll consider it useless hype because at that pace it isn’t going to help anybody but those willing to lose money trying to save a planet that doesn’t need saving or those unwilling to lose money but happy to get money taken by force from me (i.e. a subsidy).
It could be cool, but probably isn’t.
More reading here.