Sure Power Corp. has developed a system that supplies non-stop, high-quality electricity for data centers and Web hotels

The Internet and related technology-based businesses that have driven prosperity levels to new heights across the nation constitute an energy glutton of giant proportions. As 24/7 demand grows everywhere, transmission capacity lags woefully behind. To keep from ever coming between a plug and hard place again, corporate leaders and public officials in high tech regions across the country are learning from California's dark winter of 2001, and looking to seize on the opportunity represented by distributed generation.

Importantly for communities and taxpayers, distributed generation presents a short wire solution that will not require massive public or private investment. Ultimately, distributed generation should prove far easier, cheaper and environmentally less risky than construction of new central generating plants. In addition, distributed generation systems can help to balance the electricity needs of residential communities with those of data centers and Web hotels, which typically use as much electricity per individual facility as six office towers.

Engineering a Six Nines Solution

Nonstop, high-quality electricity that technology companies require for their critical daily operations is now available from Sure Power Corp. Most data centers and Web hotels get their power directly from the electricity grid. If the grid goes down, these companies are forced to activate back-up devices such as batteries and generators. The big problem is that these systems don't provide foolproof solutions.

Sure Power has applied Redundant Array of Independent Devices (RAID) technology to the creation of electrical power for large-scale data centers and Web hotels. Proven throughout the information technology industry, RAID technology allows a system to generate electricity without a single point of failure.

By incorporating redundant devices (in this case, gas turbines, fuel cells and gas reciprocating engines) into site-specific, power generation facilities, the Sure Power system does not depend on any individual component to operate. The use of an array of redundant devices to ensure failure-proof, round-the-clock performance for computers has been a cornerstone of the tech business for years. Sure Power has taken a new approach by taking this principle and applying it to a patent-pending power system.

Using probabilistic risk analysis techniques, MTechnology Inc., a consulting firm based in Framingham, Massachusetts, that specializes in magnetic and power technology and Professor Michael Golay of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have analyzed the availability of the Sure Power high-availability power system designed for the First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO), Nebraska, and installed in May 1999. They concluded that availability levels exceeded seven 9s, which means an annual exposure to potential downtime of less than one second, or a less than 1% chance of downtime over 20 years. The best conventional UPS setups, in contrast, deliver only four 9s availability, representing a 63% chance of downtime.

Guaranteed Reliability

Unlike traditional back-up systems, the Sure Power system is the primary power source, always generating electricity onsite. The utility grid becomes a third level back-up. The system is hot, not standby. All modules are always operating.

Companies choosing Sure Power's distributed generation solution are guaranteed 99.9999% (six nines) energy reliability, backed up by an insurance policy to cover losses attributed to a system failure.

The First National Bank of Omaha chose fuel cells as the primary generating source for the Sure Power system installed at FNBO's new technology center. Sure Power used fuel cells from International Fuel Cells (IFC). Formerly ONSI Corp., IFC is a subsidiary of United Technologies, which has provided the NASA space agency with fuel cells producing power and drinkable water for every U.S. manned space flight. Piller Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of a German company, manufactures the system's rotary power equipment.

The Sure Power high-availability power plant in Omaha utilizes six independent sources of energy: two independent utility substations and four fuel cell power. The system does not use generators; however, the bank ordered generators to back up lifesafety building loads. The system design, in fact, is so flexible that Sure Power integrated the generators into the system, allowing the bank to use the generators as a back-up before going to the grid. Any one substation or generator, or any two fuel cell power plants, can carry the critical load.

The IFC PC 25 fuel cell power plant is an autonomous generating plant using natural gas for fuel to produce 200 kW of electricity, heat and water. The plant only requires natural gas, oxygen from the air, occasional makeup water (during the summer months) and a cooling module to reject excess heat. Each power plant is independent with no means for transients from another power source or the load to impact its performance.