Bloom Energy - AC Transit Is Their Terminus

I blogged that AC Transit was Bloom Energy’s smoking gun.  This greenwashed company essentially faked their greenness and now AC Transit data further proves this to be true.   Real month by month data for the period April 2013 till October 2014 provided under the CA PRA by AC Transit to the Green Machine

The contract language that I reviewed under the PRA also is very interesting.  Bloom mentions the “desulfurization bed canister” but never revealed the quantity and composition of the solid waste with sulfur.  The contract also has reference to Bloom’s previous but now changed spec sheet for the ES 5700 fuel cell.  Also the contract clearly shows that the system installed at AC transit will generate 420 kilowatts with a maximum usage of 2.64 million BTUs of pipeline natural gas per hour.   This is a claimed minimum lifetime efficiency of 60.12% based on the lower heating value of natural gas.  Even at startup the boxes did not meet this minimum efficiency.  In October 2014 the monthly efficiency was 42.6% based on the lower heating value of natural gas.  After Bloom was caught greenwashing in the NBC Bay Area report they changed their spec sheet to claim an efficiency range of 52% to 60%.  Well 42.6% is much lower than 52% and the spec sheet needs further revision!

The system is also not as reliable as Bloom promised AC Transit.  The same PRA data show the monthly capacity factor of the Bloom Coffins.  Bloom promised a 97% capacity factor when claiming AC Transit would save 1,500 tons a year of CO2 emissions.    The capacity factor for the month of October 2014 was only 72.8%.  The chart below shows the decay of the reliability of the Bloom coffins.

The AC Transit information proves that Bloom fibs about efficiency, fibs about reliability, fibs about carbon savings, but most of all simply lies about solid wastes with sulfur.   The AC Transit information also implicates a global NYSE listed engineering company in the BLOOMDOGGLE.  Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was hired for $125,000 to provide design, procurement, and construction support for the Bloom coffins at AC Transit.  I have contacted a senior commercial executive at Jacobs to find out if Jacobs knew of the fibs and lies that Bloom Energy tells unsuspecting customers.  When I hear back from Jacobs I will report on this.