Bloom Electrons' pay-what-you-consume service thinks outside the Box

Bloom Energy's aptly-titled Bloom Box made a splash last year with much hooplah, bringing the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Colin Powell to its unveiling. But while the promise of efficient fuel cell technology is great for the eco-minded and even the long-term penny-pincher, the mid-to-high six-figure upfront cost limits the potential customer base to only the upper echelon of the environmentally conscious. Cue Bloom Electrons -- instead of paying for the Bloom Boxes and owning them outright, you can lease a 2MW installation for no money down and pay only for the electrons you use. A 10-year contract is required, which yes does put your smartphone commitment to shame, but Bloom hopes this Credit Suisse / Silicon Valley Bank-backed plan opens the door for educational institutions and non-profits to join in on the fun. Press release after the break.

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Bloom Energy Announces Bloom Electrons℠.

Clean, Reliable, Affordable Energy Without the Initial Expense

Over 20MW (200 Bloom Boxes) of 24/7 Electricity Service Secured; Customers Benefit from Immediate Cost Savings, Carbon Reduction, and Energy Security

Pasadena, CA – January 20, 2011- Bloom Energy®, today announced Bloom Electrons℠, a service that allows customers the flexibility to purchase electricity provided by the Bloom Box without incurring any other costs. The new Bloom Electrons service has generated tremendous interest with existing and new customers.

The Bloom Electrons service allows customers to lock in their electricity rates for 10 years, delivering fixed predictable costs and significant savings versus the grid. Bloom manages and maintains the systems on the customers' sites and the customers pay only for the electricity consumed. This allows immediate cost savings with no initial investment, making onsite clean, reliable, affordable energy more accessible.

In today's economy, the ability for companies to have the freedom of choice to either purchase the Bloom Box or utilize the Bloom Electrons service while achieving savings under either program is very appealing. Under the Bloom Electrons service, customers can immediately save up to 20% on their energy bills. New Bloom Energy customers such as California Institute of Technology, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and Kaiser Permanente will see immediate benefits from this program, as will repeat customers such as Walmart, The Coca-Cola Company and Staples Inc. as Bloom Electrons allows them to quickly scale their deployments. This coupled with the opportunity to have cleaner, more reliable on-site electricity makes Bloom Electrons a compelling economic and environmental choice.

"Bloom Electrons is about providing universal access to clean, reliable, affordable energy. Empowering our customers to buy energy on their terms is another significant step on our journey to change the way energy is generated and consumed in the world," said KR Sridhar, principal co-founder and CEO of Bloom Energy. "We are thrilled to welcome new customers and take special pride in our repeat 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 the Bloom Electrons with a 2MW installation.

"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.

Fuel choices such as natural or biogas allow customers to manage their carbon footprint and Bloom Box modularity enables the solution to be scaled for specific sites. Now Bloom Electrons gives customers financial flexibility as well. Customers can continue to buy Bloom Boxes as a capital purchase or choose to sign up for the Bloom Electrons service. Bloom Energy created this program in collaboration with Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank.

"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Bloom Energy to structure Bloom Electrons, a unique service to secure baseload electricity. Bloom Energy has developed a technology that can transform the energy landscape and we look forward to supporting Bloom throughout its growth," said Jerry L. Smith, managing director at Credit Suisse.

To date, the Bloom Energy fleet has provided customers over 40 million kilowatt-hours and eliminated approximately 45 million pounds of CO2 emissions. Today's announcement of Bloom Electrons and the 200 new systems that will initially be deployed, represent the next step on the path to deliver clean, reliable and affordable energy to everyone in the world.

About Bloom Energy

Bloom Energy is a provider of breakthrough solid oxide fuel cell technology that generates clean, highly-efficient power onsite from virtually any fuel source. Bloom Energy's mission is to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world. The Bloom Energy Server is currently producing power for several Fortune 500 companies. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA. For more information, visit www.BloomEnergy.com.