American Honda Motor has installed a 1 MW fuel cell system on its Torrance, California campus, thus providing 25% of the site’s power needs.
The fuel cell system consists of five energy servers, each producing 200 kW, for its 1.13 million square feet of office space, research, design and development operations, and parts distribution centre on the 101-acre campus. The power generated by the fuel cell system would power approximately 750 average-sized homes each day.
For each megawatt-hour of power the fuel cell system generates, CO2 emissions will be reduced by 18 to 25%. Over a project life of ten years, the system will reduce Honda’s carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 16 million pounds.
Additionally, it is estimated that Honda will save more than 3.25 million gallons of equivalent water used per year, compared to the average water demands of California power plants.
American Honda contracted with Bloom Energy and its partner, Core States Group, to design, develop and implement this project. Bloom Energy will provide all monitoring and maintenance for the fuel cells.