Fujitsu begins generating its own power at Sunnyvale plant

Financial feasibility is a big carrot for companies considering a switch to generating their own power. The rebates available and the efficiency of the environmentally friendly technology they can install sweeten the deal when corporate responsibility divisions work on reducing their carbon footprints.

“We need non-polluting generation sources,” said Ted Viviani, building operations manager for Fujitsu America’s Sunnyvale headquarters.

Viviani got Fujitsu to buy what looks like a big green dumpster, but is much cleaner. And dumpsters don’t hum.

It is a hydrogen fuel cell generator, a contraption that extracts hydrogen from natural gas with 350-degree steam, pairs up hydrogen atoms and pumps them into a permeable membrane where they meet up with oxygen and form water, releasing energy in the process.

“It creates a lot of heat and starts moving electrons around, – a lot of electrons,” said Viviani. The electricity and heat it spins off are captured and funneled into the adjacent data center that needs air conditioning and power all the time.

The generator will provide about 50 percent of the data center’s power needs and about 7 percent of the overall campus needs, according to company statements. Most generators waste heat, but this one uses it to heat water, reducing natural gas consumption.

It serves as an uninterrupted power source (UPS) that such data centers need in order to avoid mandated cutbacks during energy crises such as the one that followed hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Environmental Protection Agency forbade Fujitsu from running conventional generators full time, but this one passes strict new California emissions rules.

This location was ripe for a fuel cell trial, and another is being explored. The company is looking at installing one at a Richardson, Texas, campus as well.

“This is one of our biggest facilities,” said Tetsuo Urano, Fujitsu’s head of American operations, of the 40-year-old campus. “There are areas we need to improve.”

Built by UTC Power, the PureCell Model 200 that Fujitsu bought for about $1.1 million will produce 200 kilowatts of electricity. It will run 24 hours per day, seven days per week, a major advantage over solar panels.

PG&E gave Fujitsu a $500,000 grant to offset the startup costs of the generator through its Self-Generation Incentive Program, which is funded by all its customers. Any customer can apply for a grant.

The installation could serve as a model for other Silicon Valley businesses and cities, said Sunnyvale Mayor Otto Lee, on hand at the Aug. 17 inauguration.

“I would say I’m a little more proactive in the sense that even if it’s not the most financially feasible in the short term or the payback period may be longer it’s still the role that local government needs to play,” he said.