Industry Leading Companies Choose Bloom Electrons(SM) for Immediate Cost Savings and Carbon Reduction Benefits

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloom Energy® today announced that several industry leading customers have signed up for Bloom Electrons(SM), a service that brings clean, affordable and reliable energy to a broad range of customers. The service allows customers to purchase the electricity provided by the Bloom Box without incurring any other costs. The immediate financial and environmental benefits of the Bloom Electrons service has generated tremendous customer interest with more than 20MWs of power (200 systems) already secured to provide electricity to new and repeat customers such as The Coca-Cola Company, Staples Inc., Walmart and new customers California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Kaiser Permanente, and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company).

Dedicated to reducing carbon impact, but faced with today's economic challenges, customers have found the Bloom Electrons service to offer the financial flexibility they need to achieve both environmental and economic objectives. The service allows customers to lock in their electricity rates for 10 years, delivering fixed predictable costs with significant savings (up to 20 percent) versus the grid. Initially, more than 20MWs (200 systems), the equivalent of powering 20,000 American homes, will be deployed at customer sites to provide clean, reliable power 24/7/365.

"More and more companies are making a conscious decision to embrace energy innovation and the Bloom Electrons service gives them a unique opportunity to accelerate economic and environmental impact on a larger scale," said KR Sridhar, principal co-founder and CEO of Bloom Energy. "We take immense pride in our valued customers whose repeat business demonstrates their confidence in our business and are thrilled to welcome our new customers."

Bloom Electrons is a service that opens the door to new types of customers such as non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and utilities. The California Institute of Technology, one of the world's most highly regarded scientific and technology universities, is one of the first to benefit from Bloom Electrons with a 2MW Bloom installation. Bloom Energy has partnered with Southern California Gas Company to provide a clean, reliable, and affordable solution to enhance Caltech's core mission of research and education by reducing Caltech's environmental impact and promoting stewardship within the Caltech community.

Walmart

Walmart views sustainability as an important opportunity for both the future of their business and the world. Accordingly, they have set an aspirational goal of being supplied by 100 percent renewable energy. Walmart, which evaluates their energy vendors with the same rigor they apply to all their suppliers, sought a renewable energy solution that could contribute to their sustainability goals and deliver reliable electricity 24 hours a day at prices competitive to utility electricity. Walmart has operational Bloom Box deployments of 400kW systems at two Southern California retail locations and is in the process of expanding deployments to additional stores through the new Bloom Electrons service.

"Walmart's first two Bloom Energy installations are helping reduce our carbon footprint and overall impact on the environment while providing reliable, renewable energy at competitive prices. The Bloom Electrons service will allow us to grow our use of this technology and move closer to our company-wide goal of being supplied by 100 percent renewable energy," said Kim Saylors-Laster, vice president of energy, Walmart.

The Coca-Cola Company

As part of its Energy and Climate Protection strategy, The Coca-Cola Company is committed to improving the energy efficiency of its plants and fleet while reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in cold drink equipment. As a part of this strategy, The Coca-Cola Company is already operating 500kW of Bloom Boxes at its Odwalla plant in Dinuba, CA, which has allowed the facility to generate 30 percent of its power needs using biogas. Through the Bloom Electrons service, The Coca-Cola Company will be deploying Bloom Boxes at additional manufacturing facilities as part of its ongoing commitment to operating a sustainable business.

"The Bloom Boxes at our Odwalla plant support our efforts to employ technology that enables us to continue to grow our business without growing the carbon footprint," said Rick Frazier, vice president, Supply Chain, Coca-Cola Refreshments. "Through the Bloom Electrons service, we are able to expand the installations of their Bloom Boxes to additional manufacturing facilities as part of our commitment to hold worldwide manufacturing carbon emissions flat through 2015 from its 2004 level."

Staples Inc.

Staples' first 300kW of Bloom Box installations located at their Ontario, CA distribution center were deployed as a reliable solution that operates around the clock and significantly reduces carbon emissions. Through the success of this first deployment and as a part of Staples' continued focus on environmental leadership and operating costs, the company will be deploying Bloom Boxes at additional large facilities and distribution centers through the Bloom Electrons service.

"The Bloom Box installation at our Ontario, CA distribution center has demonstrated that we can reduce both our environmental footprint and operational costs," said Mark Buckley, vice president of Environmental Affairs for Staples. "Through the Bloom Electrons service we now have the flexibility to buy only the electrons and continue to achieve even greater environmental and economic success at more of our large facilities and distribution centers."

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Caltech is a private university that is recognized for its highly select student body of 900 undergraduates and 1,200 graduate students, and for its outstanding faculty. Since 1923, Caltech faculty and alumni have garnered 32 Nobel Prizes and six Crafoord Prizes. In addition to its prestigious on-campus research programs, Caltech operates the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the W. M. Keck Observatory in Mauna Kea, the Palomar Observatory, and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Caltech strives to procure high quality, reliable and environmentally preferable energy to support ongoing education and research on its campus in Pasadena, California, while continually improving efficiency and reducing peak demand.  Caltech is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020.

"Bloom Energy enables Caltech to more effectively carry out its core mission of research and education by providing cleaner, more economical and predictable power which ultimately helps us achieve our strategic infrastructure and sustainability goals," said Dean Currie, vice president for Business & Finance at Caltech.

BD

BD was seeking a clean energy solution for its BD Biosciences facility in San Jose, CA that provided reliable energy costs and decreased dependency on the electricity grid. This project supports BD's efforts to use onsite energy generation and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

"As a global healthcare company, BD believes that a healthy environment is essential to human health, and we must do our part to minimize our impact on climate change. Working with Bloom Energy to install these fuel cells through the Bloom Electrons service is an important example of BD's commitment to using innovative energy solutions in our global operations," said Glenn Barbi, vice president, BD Office of Global Sustainability.

Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente aspires to provide health care services in a manner that protects and enhances the environment now and for future generations. The organization announced last year it would deploy 15 megawatts of solar power in a deal that will put solar panels at 15 Kaiser Permanente facilities across the state by the end of 2011. Find out more about Kaiser Permanente's sustainability initiatives here: www.kp.org/green.

"Kaiser Permanente recognizes the health of the environment directly affects individual and community health," says Kathy Gerwig, vice president and Environmental Stewardship Officer at Kaiser Permanente. "By expanding the use of clean energy through solutions like the Bloom Electrons service, Kaiser Permanente is demonstrating its commitment to greening its energy portfolio and reducing its carbon footprint." 

Southern California Gas Company

Southern California Gas Company, a critical partner in completing customer projects, serves as a major gas supplier and an administrator of California incentives. Their commitment to the environment includes incorporating environmentally-friendly practices in their facilities and daily operations as well as helping customers save energy at their homes and businesses, invest in new technologies, and supporting organizations dedicated to the environment.

"Southern California Gas Company is thrilled to partner with Bloom Energy to bring this innovative technology from a vision to a market reality," said Michael W. Allman, President and CEO of Southern California Gas Company. "These fuel cells build on the important role natural gas plays today in delivering clean reliable energy by enabling the production of power on a continuous low emissions basis using renewable natural gas -- something we hope to make central to the renewables dialogue through projects like this and others."

SOURCE Bloom Energy