UCSB Gets Super Efficient Power System

Like a big battery that’s always on, a new 200-kilowatt Bloom Energy Server directly connected to Southern California Edison’s grid has been installed at UCSB. The system, which also sits on Google, Caltech, and Coca-Cola Company campuses around the country, powers parts of the university and nearby Isla Vista using a fuel cell technology that converts fuel into electricity 24/7 via an electro-chemical process without combustion. The new server is expected to produce more than 1.75 million kilowatt hours annually, enough to power about 160 homes, and cuts carbon emissions by almost 30 percent.