November 19, 2015 – LOS ANGELES, CA — AEG and STAPLES Center held a celebratory event marking the completion of its Bloom Energy fuel cell technology deployment today. Former Vice President Al Gore joined executives from AEG, Bloom Energy, Green Sports Alliance and the City of Los Angeles to “Flip the Switch” on the recently installed Bloom Energy fuel cells that will provide on-site generation to STAPLES Center. The 500 kW fuel cell project will generate power through a clean and efficient electrochemical process, providing approximately 25% of the power required by the sports and entertainment venue each year. The Bloom Energy Servers will also reduce STAPLES Center’s carbon emissions by 2.2 million pounds of carbon annually, a 39% reduction compared to electricity purchased from the local utility.
The purchase of the new technology for the downtown Los Angeles sports and entertainment arena furthers STAPLES Center’s reputation as “the most efficient arena in the world.” This project contributes to the sustainability goals created by AEG, owners of STAPLES Center, as part of the organization’s corporate environmental sustainability program, AEG 1EARTH, and the mission to reduce the company’s environmental impact and drive business value through sustainability for all company assets including more than 100 venues affiliated with its AEG Facilities division.
“It is our hope and intention that our commitment to developing these critical programs and initiatives would challenge and inspire constituents in our industry and extending to our partners and our stakeholders in the cities where we do business all over the world,” said AEG CEO & President Dan Beckerman.
“There is no more urgent ecological issue than reducing our alliance on fossil fuels. AEG’s addition of fuel cells to its clean energy mix at STAPLES Center is another important example of the company’s longstanding leadership in moving the sports industry towards responsible environmental stewardship,” said Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, Green Sports Alliance President.
“Bloom is thrilled to be here and celebrate this occasion with Al Gore, and we look forward to many future NBA, NHL and other ‘Bloom powered’ events here at the STAPLES Center,” said KR Sridhar, CEO and co-founder of Bloom Energy.
In addition to the Bloom Energy fuel cells, STAPLES Center has a 346 kW rooftop solar array, which has helped power events with renewable energy for the past seven years, and nearly 500 waterless urinals have saved the City of Los Angeles more than 2.3 million gallons of water annually. In 2014, STAPLES Center became the first U.S. NHL arena and first NBA arena to use specially developed LED sports lighting which save approximately 1,250,000 kWh of electricity each year.
For more information on AEG1Earth and its 20/20 goals, go to http://www.aegworldwide.com/about/companyoverview/aeg1earth
About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns, operates or consults with a collection of companies including over 100 of the world’s preeminent facilities such as STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, CA), StubHub Center (Carson, CA), PlayStation Theater (Times Square, New York), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), Allphones Arena (Sydney, Australia), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Berlin, Germany), Allianz Parque (São Paulo, Brazil) and The O2 arena and entertainment district (London, England). Developed by AEG, L.A. LIVE is a 4 million square foot / $3 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, & entertainment district featuring Microsoft Theater, Club Nokia, and a 54-story, 1001-room convention “headquarters” destination. In addition to overseeing privately held management shares of the Los Angeles Lakers, assets of AEG Sports include franchises such as the LA Kings, LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo and the Amgen Tour of California cycling stage race. Along with AEG Facilities, other global divisions include AEG Live, the world’s second largest concert promotion and touring companies comprised of touring, festival, exhibition, broadcast, merchandise and special event divisions and AEG Global Partnerships, responsible for worldwide sales and servicing of sponsorships, naming rights and other strategic partnerships. In 2010, AEG launched its AEG 1EARTH environmental program featuring the industry’s first sustainability report while in 2011, AEG introduced AXS a comprehensive entertainment platform serving as the company’s primary consumer brand including AXS Ticketing which provides fans the opportunity to purchase tickets directly from their favorite venues via a user-friendly ticketing interface, Examiner.com and the AXS TV network, a linear cable channel focusing on live entertainment and lifestyle programming available in nearly 40 million homes. AEG’s European headquarters are located in London. Global headquarters are in Los Angeles. For more information, visit: www.aegworldwide.com
About Bloom Energy
Bloom Energy is a provider of breakthrough solid oxide fuel cell technology generating clean, highly efficient onsite power from multiple fuel sources. Founded in 2001 with a mission to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world, Bloom Energy Servers are currently producing power for many Fortune 500 companies including Apple, Google, Wal-Mart, AT&T, Staples, The Coca-Cola Company, as well as notable non-profit organizations such as Caltech and Kaiser Permanente. Also, with its Mission Critical Systems practice, Bloom Energy provides grid-independent power for critical loads in data centers and manufacturing. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit www.bloomenergy.com.