Tuesday, April 30, 2013

ClearEdge Gets Big Win, As Verizon Plans $100M In Energy Projects

Telecom carrier Verizon announced a big project this morning to install $100M of solar power and fuel cells at its facilities, as part of an effort to make those facilities more resilient to disasters and storms. The big, local beneficiary of the project? ClearEdge Power, the Hillsboro, Oregon-based developer of fuel cell energy equipment. According to Verizon, it is installing ClearEdge's systems at sites in California, New Jersey and New York, allowing those sites to run off natural gas. ClearEdge develops fuel cell systems which convert natural gas into electricity, and which are more environmentally friendly than diesel or petroleum. Verizon's investments are being used to both allow for better disaster resilience, as well as for its sustainability efforts. Verizon said that the natural gas used in ClearEdge's fuel cells emits less climate-warming carbon dioxide than diesel. Apparently, fuel cells used at Verizon's East Coast sites helped the carrier keep things running even after Superstorm Sandy.