To be built in partnership with Bloom Energy, EBay will build a non-utility fuel cell installation using 30 Bloom Energy servers into the new data center’s energy architecture with renewable energy at its core.
Ebay president and CEO John Donahoe said that while technology-led innovation is changing retail and revolutionizing how people shop and pay, the company also wants to revolutionize how shopping is powered.
An electric utility grid will act as a backup for the renewable energy source.
"Running our data centers primarily on reliable, renewable energy, we intend to shape a future for commerce that is more environmentally sustainable at its core," added Donahoe.
Expected to be fully functional by mid-2013, each of the 30 Bloom Energy servers will generate 1.75 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per annum.
