Danbury’s Fuel Cell Energy recently helped develop a fuel cell for Microsoft’s newly opened zero-carbon, waste-to-energy-powered data center in Cheyenne, Wyo.
The project uses biogas produced at Wyoming’s Dry Creek Water Reclamation Facility to power the fuel cell at the data center. The biogas is a byproduct of municipal wastewater treatment. Anaerobic bacteria produce the biogas while stabilizing solids removed from wastewater. The fuel cell electrochemically converts the biogas into electricity to power the Microsoft IT server container.
The fuel cell plant is expected to produce 300 kilowatts of renewable power while the datacenter will only use about 200 kilowatts. The remaining kilowatts will be delivered back to the wastewater treatment plant to reduce its electric bills.
FuelCell Energy developed the fuel cell technology to convert unused biogas into ultra-clean power generation. The plant uses an electrochemical reaction to generate electricity and heat. Virtually no air pollutants are released because of the absence of combustion.
Siemens worked with Microsoft and FuelCell Energy to engineer and install power monitoring equipment for the data center.
