This really annoys me, for a number of reasons. (And yes, this is a rant.) I first heard of Bloom Energy seven or so years ago, when I worked in Orange County

This really annoys me, for a number of reasons. (And yes, this is a rant.) I first heard of Bloom Energy seven or so years ago, when I worked in Orange County (California). I was at a company where we had a small data center on-site, with a large UPS, but with no generator backup. A Bloom Box would have been perfect as a backup power source, but at the time I looked they were just getting started. For reference, nearby John Wayne Airport had recently built a cogeneration plant, which provided the majority of the airport's power and air conditioning needs, while still giving them the option of drawing full power from the regional utility. (See https://www.ocregister.com/2011/04/25/31-million-power-plant-built-at-john-wayne-airport/ https://www.ocregister.com/2011/04/25/31-million-power-plant...) So I was very interested in exploring similar solutions for where I worked, but at a smaller scale: The building already had an emergency generator for essentials (security, emergency lighting, water, and elevators); the only thing missing coverage was the data center. But Bloom was too immature at the time. And today, I'm lucky enough to be in an area that was not affected by PG&E's recent Public Safety Power Shutoffs (work also was not affected), but there's no guarantee that I'll be similarly lucky next time around. And my apartment is all-electric, with gas being used only to provide hot water. If heating is needed, and the power is out, them I'm stuck. Until reading this article, I occasionally would think of Bloom Energy, and how a Bloom Box would be nice as a temporary or last-resort thing, where a generator might otherwise be installed. And I was getting annoyed at how some communities banning new natural gas installations would block that, even though PG&E is not really in a state to be trusted. And now I read this article. And I am really annoyed. No, a Bloom Box is not the best or most efficient technology compared to, say, wind power. But when you have natural gas available, and an unstable electric grid, a Bloom Box always seemed to me to be a good backup power source. Except who knows what's going to happen to them now. Maybe someone will be able to iterate on the technology, and hopefully not become so loaded down with funding/debt that they feel the need to promise the stars.