Data Center Power Solutions for Reliable Energy

For the key priorities of data centers, Bloom Energy’s solution is unmatched and is a trusted mission-critical partner. Bloom has a long track record of success in supporting data centers’ power needs with over 300 megawatts of contracted and deployed orders.

Data Center Industry
at a Glance

Data centers are the critical link between the digital and physical world – they power almost every aspect of our economy today, consuming close to 3% of global electricity in the process. Bloom Energy’s cutting-edge technology addresses both power usage effectiveness (PUE) and overall data center energy efficiency, ensuring sustainability and cost control.

The combination of a nearly constant electrical load and the need for a high degree of reliability make data centers well suited for on-site electrical generation.

The Bloom Energy Server® is designed to meet the requirements of powering the digital economy, with very high power availability, mission-critical reliability, and grid-independent capabilities.

Quick Facts About
the Data Center Industry

Data centers could consume up to 9% of the U.S. electricity generation by 2030.¹ The rising demand for data center power has prompted the exploration of alternative power sources like hydrogen fuel cells and natural gas power generation.
55% percent of organizations reported having experienced a data center outage in the past three years. ²

The failure of power and cooling systems was the most common cause of data center outages, accounting for about 71% of all outages. ²
54% of Uptime Institute survey respondents said their most recent severe outage cost over $100,000, with 16% reporting costs exceeding $1 million. ³

Overcoming Energy
Challenges

Maximizing Uptime

The critical nature of data center operation elevates many design criteria — chiefly reliability and power availability — over other considerations, and special focus must be placed on redundancy measures. As AI grows and power demands increase, the challenge is heightened by more frequent data center utility power shortages. Bloom Energy ensures uninterrupted power with scalable on-site generation solutions, vital for maintaining uptime.

Resilient Solution

Bloom provides a highly available always-on primary power source with up to 6-9s reliability, eliminating the need to invest in operating and maintaining legacy equipment that tends to fail during transitional events such as loss of utility power.

Lowering Emissions

Bloom’s innovative use of hydrogen fuel cells offers data centers a sustainable, low-carbon alternative power source, helping operators meet emissions reduction targets without compromising reliability.

Sustainable Solution

Fuel cells not only reduce harmful emissions but also serve as an efficient, sustainable alternative for data center onsite power generation. By running on biogas or hydrogen, these fuel cells can provide near-zero or carbon-neutral power, making them a cleaner choice for powering critical operations.

Controlling Costs

Energy is a significant portion of operating budgets within data centers and is a key consideration when developing an infrastructure strategy. Traditional electricity delivered by the grid exposes operators to price volatility which make budgets difficult to set and achieve. By leveraging natural gas power generation and microgrid power solutions, Bloom helps data centers control energy costs, reducing exposure to fluctuating utility prices and improving predictability.

Predictable Solution

In addition to avoiding outage-related costs that can reach into the millions of dollars, Bloom’s solution enables customers to hedge against volatility and price escalation by fixing a large portion of their electricity cost, providing multiple financing options and flexible term lengths. With data center electricity consumption rising, Bloom’s predictable power solutions ensure both cost stability and operational reliability.

Rapid Time to Power

Data centers must move quickly to meet the rising demand, which can be hindered by long power infrastructure timelines. Bloom Energy accelerates the process with modular, on-site power generation solutions that drastically reduce time to power compared to traditional grid setups. This enables operators to quickly bring new data centers online and scale operations as needed, ensuring faster deployment without compromising on reliability or sustainability.

Data Center Power FAQs

How much power does a data center need?

Power consumption in a typical data center varies widely depending on its size and the nature of its workloads. Small data centers (spanning 5,000 to 20,000 square feet and hosting 500 to 2,000 servers) generally require between 1 to 5 megawatts (MW) of power.⁴ On the other hand, hyperscale data centers, which can be over 100,000 square feet and support tens of thousands of servers, may demand 20 to over 100 MW.⁵

With the rise of AI workloads, GPU workloads, and high-performance computing (HPC), power demand in data centers is projected to increase by 160% by 2030. AI-ready racks equipped with GPUs can require 40-60 kW per rack, compared to the current 10-14 kW, dramatically driving up overall data center power consumption.⁶

What is the best source of power for a data center?

When selecting the best data center power source, operators must consider several factors: reliability, energy efficiency, scalability for growing AI workloads, and the ability to meet stringent data center power requirements while maintaining low Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). Given the increasing complexity and power consumption in the data center industry, solutions that combine consistent energy delivery with sustainability are becoming more critical.

Bloom Energy offers a compelling option for onsite power generation through its natural gas fuel cells, which provide a cleaner alternative to traditional grid power. These systems help reduce data center electricity consumption by offering efficient, resilient power that can scale with GPU and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads. In addition, Bloom’s fuel cells can act as supplemental power during data center utility power shortages, ensuring uninterrupted operation.