Whitefield will soon get a skyscraper powered by solely by fuel cell-based electricity. San Jose-based fuel cell electricity firm Bloom Energy, founded by former NASA scientist K.R. Sridhar, will power the tower with clean, reliable electricity generated on-site using natural gas in partnership with companies such as GAIL (India) and Indian Oil Corporation.
Whitefield Tower will be a business-hospitality development with 6.9 lakh sq.ft of premium space with two levels of shopping and entertainment, a 60-room boutique hotel, high-end co-working spaces, shared services for business, and spaces for media, art and exhibition.
“We are excited to offer a clean energy alternative to India that aligns with the country’s ambitious goals to increase electricity generated from natural gas. With the right regulatory environment, India can proliferate this type of technology and deliver a plentiful supply of clean, reliable electricity to keep its economy booming,” said Venkat Venkataraman, chief technology officer, Bloom Energy. Bloom Energy servers are touted to be the world’s most efficient commercially available electricity generation devices.
“India will for the foreseeable future rely on imported LNG, which makes it critical that we have access to the most efficient, state-of-the-art technology like Bloom Energy Servers to maximize returns on our LNG investments,” said Shri Bhuwan Chandra Tripathi, former chairman and MD of GAIL.
In contrast to electricity delivered via the electrical grid, Bloom Energy servers generate power on site, and can operate off the grid.
