60 Minutes - NEW power source, get off the grid!

[casinojack]

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[universal4]

Now that was a cool story......

Pretty lofty goals getting the price point down to that....

I think FEMA should buy some of them NOW before hurricane season hits.

Rick
Universal4

[Anthony]

Promising technology!

FEMA can't plan what time to have lunch.

[vinism]

This is an example of why space programs are so important. The guy that created this, K. R. Sridhar, was working on manned-space travel to Mars for NASA before doing this. He modified the technology he was working on there to do this. The space program forces people to think big and dream big. And this is the result.

[Anthony]

U.S. no longer has a space program. No moon, no mars, no more reaching for the stars and the technology leaps it creates. Now China and Russia can lead in all things innovative.

[offyourface]

This is pretty cool stuff. We are actually designing a solar system here at the house. The problem is the energy industry is growing at warp speed and everytime we start to lock in the latest technology something new comes out that is more efficient. Now that I see this I wonder if I should hold off for a little while.

But this might actually be a niche that is getting ready to explode. The government is currently offering huge incentives to entice consumers to get on board with Solar, so your system is paid for in just a couple years with your savings and government kickback. You can even sell any left over energy back to the electric companies if you have a large enough system, so aside from the obvious reasons to start moving to solar, there are many other reasons that make it a no brainer for the consumer.

I think it's a safe assumption that most of the worlds energy is eventually going to come from solar or something like this, so its a train I don't want to miss as a webmaster. Thats some serious coin on the table. Something to consider if your looking to deviate from gambling.

[dhayman]

I saw that episode, and got excited, at least from an investment perspective, until I found out that Bloom is a privately held company, with major cash infusion from a reputable venture capital firm. I'd love to take some money and invest in the technology long-term, but there doesn't seem to be a vehicle to do so. Does anyone know otherwise ?

[livefree247]

wow that is very cool!

[AmCan]

U.S. no longer has a space program. No moon, no mars, no more reaching for the stars and the technology leaps it creates. Now China and Russia can lead in all things innovative.

That's a pretty extreme statement, that isn't really true of unmanned space research.


the Bloom Box supposedly generates 2x the electricity from methane than traditional generation, which generates 1/4 the CO2 that coal emits and natural gas is ridiculously cheaper per BTU/Joule than oil. and a stack of plates the size of a bag of coffee is going to power my whole house, wow.

[TheGooner]

A looong way to go.

Concept proven, and prototype trial boxes built and installed - and the inventor as $400 million in funding saying that people think that he can make it happen.

But ... while the plates are small - there is still a complicated system to feed in the gas "fuel" that actually sustains the reaction - which is why we have the Fridge box around it.

The current price of $700K to $800K makes it extremely expensive electricity, but the California based companies that have taken the boxes seem to be able to claim 50% back through state and federal grants to make the effective price half that.

Still, it's a big ask to be able to bring that price down to around $3K for domestic users which is the founders aim.


Even computers (which is the often touted example of technology price drops) did not really drop manufacturing costs - rather prices just seemed to be static while power doubled each 6 months or so.

I'd love to see this technology happen - but it might be a decade or two before we see a domestic application I reckon.

[AmCan]

I'd love to see this technology happen - but it might be a decade or two before we see a domestic application I reckon.

A decade would be great. Superconducting cables took about 20 years after the first high temperature (cooled in liquid nitrogren) materials were identified.

As far as i can tell, bloom box, is probably already the cheapest fuel cell deployed. Those for space cost $2500 per kw of capacity.

Each Bloom Energy Server provides 100kw of power, enough to meet the baseload needs of 100 average homes or a small office building... day and night, in roughly the footprint of a standard parking space. For more power simply add more energy servers.

at $800k, a their cost is $800 per kw.

US DoE is funding research with a goal of a $400 per kw fuel. They say:

Today, the most widely deployed fuel cells cost about $4,500 per kilowatt; by contrast, a diesel generator costs $800 to $1,500 per kilowatt, and a natural gas turbine can be $400 per kilowatt or even less.

They're twice the cost of the nat gas generator, but the developer says his box outputs twice the electricity.

With respect to the tax credits, i wanted to point out the 30% federal credit is available to homeowners and business, as are similar state incentives.

If it works reliably a lot of the pieces are in place to help increase the speed at which it can become a residential product.

I reiterate: wow
bloom site: bloomenergy.com