eBay centre goes green
PC Mag reports.
In partnership with Bloom Energy, eBay will build the US' largest non-utility fuel cell installation. Though renewable energy typically supplements an electric grid, eBay is building the energy source into its core, incorporating 30 Bloom Energy servers into the new centre's architecture.
The fuel cells will be situated a few hundred feet from the data centre - which will essentially eliminate power losses that are the norm on utility grids - and will generate 1.75 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity every year, TechWeek Europe notes.
The Bloom installation will offer a combined capacity of six megawatts.
The cells will run all day, every day, replacing the backup generators and UPS components that are used less than 1% of the time, and will power not only the eBay transaction platform, but also other businesses, including its PayPal payment service and StubHub online ticket site, officials said.
PC Mag writes that the fuel cells, which take fuel like natural gas or bio-gas and combine it with oxygen and chemicals to produce electricity, will be installed in a way that the company hopes will eliminate the chance of utility grid blackouts.
The fuel-cell-powered facility's cost has not been disclosed, but the company said the project will allow the reallocation of investment dollars, especially in the removal of generators.
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