At the unveiling of Whitefield Tower clean
energy project, technology and energy leaders come together to
support and advance India’s transition to natural gas power
Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE), real estate developer Atelier Global,
India’s leading natural gas companies GAIL (India) Limited and
Indian Oil Corporation, and representatives of the US-India
Strategic Partnership Forum, today announced a first-of-its-kind
commercial real estate development in Bangalore that will be
powered by clean reliable electricity generated on-site using
natural gas.
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Rendering of Whitefield Tower
business-hospitality development and Bloom Energy Server
installation in Bengaluru, India (Photo: Business Wire)
Atelier has conceptualized Whitefield Tower, a
business-hospitality development with 6.9 lakh square feet of
premium offices where “business checks in”, 2 levels of “shoppable
entertainment”, 60 room boutique hotel, high-end co-working spaces,
shared services for business and social offerings that
“fill-in-the-city-gaps” including media, art and exhibition
spaces.
Upon its completion, the iconic Whitefield Tower will be a first
of its kind development with 87,000 sq. ft. floor plates, large
spans measuring 15 meters, fresh air architecture, central core
design, 4.5 meter heights and 100% daylight harvesting. The
building has double skinned façades with shading louvers to avoid
glare and heat.
Atelier plans for one megawatt of power for the development to
be provided by Bloom Energy Servers running on natural gas provided
by GAIL.
Developed in Silicon Valley, the Bloom Energy Server is the
world’s most efficient commercially available electricity
generation device. It produces power without combustion through an
electrochemical process which generates virtually no smog-forming
emissions. Bloom Energy Servers can operate using natural gas,
biogas from landfills, food or animal waste, or hydrogen as
fuel.
The Bloom Energy Server development at Whitefield Tower is the
first natural gas-powered solid oxide fuel cell project in India
since the launch of the U.S.-India Gas Task Force. The task force
was established by Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dhamendra
Pradhan and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry in
April 2018 to support the Indian government's goal to increase the
share of natural gas in India’s energy mix from 6.5% to 15% by
2030.
The World Bank has reported that India loses approximately 4% of
its GDP due to distortions in the power sector that impact both
human health and business productivity. At a press event to
announce the project, Bloom Energy Chief Technology Officer Venkat
Venkataraman, former GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Shri
Bhuwan Chandra Tripathi, Mr. J.P. Misra, General Manager, Gas
Business of Indian Oil (IOCL), and Ms. Garima Singh, Senior
Manager, Energy and Environment of USISPF proposed ways to
encourage more fuel cell projects to improve power reliability and
enhance air quality throughout India.
The industry leaders at the Bengaluru event proposed a number of
measures to accelerate India’s transition to natural gas. These
included tax exemptions on natural gas used for electricity
generation; increased allocations of domestic gas for clean
electricity projects; exemptions for import duty on fuel cell
technology; capital subsidies for early adoption of clean fuel cell
technology, and a tariff mechanism to enable excess power from fuel
cells to be used to stabilize local grid power.
“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,” said Venkat
Venkataraman, Chief Technology Officer of Bloom Energy. “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.”
“It was important to us to bring the first natural gas-powered
commercial real estate development to Bengaluru,” said Tony
Kunnel, Principal at Atelier Global. “We’re proud to be
combining cutting edge design with a sustainable approach to power
that advances both our city’s aesthetic and its air quality.”
“The Whitefield Tower development is a fine example of the
potential of natural gas power to transform electricity generation
in India,” said Shri Bhuwan Chandra Tripathi, former Chairman
and Managing Director of GAIL. “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 the return on our LNG
investments.”
“GAIL Gas has developed a robust infrastructure to deliver
reliable power to customers that will support the growth of Bloom
Energy in Bangalore and neighboring areas,” said A.K. Jana, CEO
of GAIL Gas. “We will further strive to advance government
policies that support the adoption of this clean, reliable form of
electricity generation.”
“IndianOil sincerely appreciates the efforts of Bloom Energy to
develop such innovative and state-of-the-art technology,” said
Mr. J.P. Misra, General Manager (Gas Business) of IndianOil
(IOCL). “I believe this technology has the potential to
transform the power industry and to reduce the carbon footprint of
India considering the very low prices of LNG. I would like to
emphasize here that IndianOil extends its complete support to Bloom
Energy for reliable supply of LNG at any location irrespective of
availability of a natural gas pipeline to the end user. For the
last 13 years IndianOil has provided uninterrupted and very
reliable natural gas supply to many remote customers.”
“Creating a regulatory environment in which natural gas projects
can thrive is a win-win for India and for the United States,” said
Mr. Nolty Theriot, Senior Vice President, USISPF. “India has
an opportunity to accelerate the shift to reliable power, and
further developing gas markets in India will both enhance the
viability of existing long-term contracts for U.S. gas in India and
create significant business opportunities for U.S. energy
companies.”
In contrast to electricity delivered via the electrical grid,
Bloom Energy Servers generate power on-site, and can operate
independently of the grid. Bloom Energy Servers run 24 hours a day,
365 days a year, with 60% lower greenhouse gas emissions than the
Indian grid. Because they are fueled by underground natural gas
pipelines, they are dramatically less susceptible to outages than
electricity sources that rely on overheard wires. As a result,
customers who use Bloom Energy Servers around the world are able to
reduce or eliminate their reliance on dirty back-up power.
Bloom Energy Servers are widely deployed by Fortune 100
companies with more than 600 customer deployments in the US, Japan,
Korea and India. Bloom Energy has previously announced the US
technology company Intel has deployed Bloom Energy Servers to meet
the power needs of its growing Bengaluru campus.
A 3.5 megawatt deployment integrated with Intel’s smart and
green building design providing reduced carbon dioxide emissions,
delivered higher power quality, and a reliable solution for the
campus electric supply. Carbon dioxide emissions levels were
reduced by nearly 65%, as compared to the displaced grid generation
supply and previously required back-up diesel generation,
supporting Intel’s aggressive sustainability program.
Bloom Energy was founded and is led by Chairman and CEO KR
Sridhar, an entrepreneur originally from India. Bloom Energy
employs 300 people in India.
About GAIL
GAIL is India’s leading natural gas company with diversified
interests across the natural gas value chain of trading,
transmission, LPG production & transmission, petrochemicals,
city gas, E&P etc. It operates a pipeline network of over
11,000 km with a capacity of about 210 million cubic meters per
day. GAIL commands 75% market share in gas transmission and has a
Gas trading share of over 50% in India. It also has a growing
international presence through subsidiaries in the USA and
Singapore.
About Indian Oil Corporation
With a 33,000-plus work-force, extensive refining, distribution
& marketing infrastructure and advanced R&D facilities,
lndianOil plays a significant role in fuelling the socio-economic
development of the country. With a mandate to ensure India's energy
security and self-sufficiency in refining & marketing of
petroleum products, lndianOil has in the past six decades provided
energy access to millions of people across the length and breadth
of the country through its ever-expanding network of over 50,000
customer touch-points.
IndianOil hold around 19% market share in RLNG sale in India and
pioneer & leaders in LNG road transport in India. IndianOil has
co-promoted Petronet LNG Limited (PLL) having terminals at Dahej
and Kochi. IndianOil owns and operates a 5 MMTPA terminal at
Ennore, which is the first LNG import terminal in the east coast of
India. IndianOil has planned a 1400 Km long pipeline network in
south India.
IndianOil’s Research & Development (R&D) Division has
more than 1000 patents, is also emphasizing on innovative
technologies on Natural Gas like Solid Oxide Fuel cells, Polymeric
Electrolytic Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell, H-CNG (one of the Reformed
forms of Natural Gas), Use of natural Gas in Refining technologies
etc.
About Atelier Global
Atelier Global is an aspiring studio strongly believes in the
power of design and creativity. We think beyond space and function
for new insights and possibilities. Our methodology is to establish
cross links among different cultures, scales and form of spaces
that enables transposition thinking and generate new quality of
spaces. The systematic yet transboundary approach has been
successfully executed on comprehensive project types including
culture, education, retail and live/ work spaces. We consistently
focus on details for project realization. Atelier Global has
received numerous design awards from the United States, Europe and
Hong Kong, Our colleagues are actively involved in academic and
cultural research including Biennale exhibition and university
teaching.
About Bloom Energy
Bloom Energy’s mission is to make clean, reliable, and
affordable energy for everyone in the world. The company’s product,
the Bloom Energy Server, delivers highly reliable and resilient,
‘Always-On’ electric power that is clean and sustainable. Bloom’s
customers include twenty-five of the Fortune 100 companies and
leaders in cloud services and data centers, healthcare, retail,
financial services, utilities and many other industries. For more
information, visit www.bloomenergy.com
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190829005112/en/
David McCulloch Bloom Energy Headquarters
david.mcculloch@bloomenergy.com T: +1 408.543.1087
Neha Merchant PR Representative Bloom Energy India
Neha.Merchant@allisonpr.com M: + 91 9820454541
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