PHILIPPINE CONSUL GENERAL FERRER VISITS BLOOM ENERGY
Consul General Neil R. Ferrer and Mr. James Roth, Bloom Energy’s Head of Global Policy & Government Affairs (photo by PCGSF)
L-R: Consul Vanessa G. Bago-Llona, Consul General Neil R. Ferrer, Mr. James Roth, Head of Global Policy & Government Affairs, and Mr. Josh Melo, Business Development & Project Manager, International Business Development at Bloom Energy, and Ms. Jennifer V. Sto. Domingo. (photo by PCGSF)
Fremont, California, 2 April 2024 – Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil R. Ferrer visited the Fremont facility of Bloom Energy, a company that specializes in providing clean and reliable energy solutions.
Bloom Energy is a leading provider of on-site power generation systems utilizing solid oxide fuel cell technology. The company’s mission is to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy solutions to address global energy challenges. Bloom Energy’s fuel cells convert natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen into electricity through an electrochemical process, offering a more efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional grid power.
Consul General Ferrer met with Mr. James Roth, Head of Global Policy & Government Affairs, and Mr. Josh Melo, Business Development & Project Manager, International Business Development.
Consul Vanessa G. Bago-Llona and Economic Assistant Jennifer V. Sto. Domingo also joined the visit during which the team had the opportunity to tour Bloom Energy’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Fremont and observe the production process of their fuel cell systems.
The Bloom Energy executives highlighted Bloom’s Energy Server Platforms, which can be configured as microgrids that can ensure reliability and resilience amid grid outages and extreme weather disruption. Bloom Energy servers currently supply power to numerous Fortune 500 companies. It has diverse customers in cloud services and technology, including data centers, consumer retail, food and beverage, telecom, media and entertainment, manufacturing, biotech and pharmaceutical, and higher education. Aside from the U.S., Bloom has presence in various countries in Europe, Asia, and in Australia.
The Philippine Energy Plan 2022-2040 includes a clean energy scenario that aims for a 35 percent renewable energy (RE) share in the power generation mix by 2030 and a 50 percent RE share by 2040. This is consistent with the Philippines’ commitment under the Paris Agreement in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
The Philippine government is also actively exploring the use of hydrogen for power generation. In January 2024, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla signed DOE Circular No. 2024-01-0001, a policy framework to support the use of hydrogen in the energy sector. The state-owned National Power Corporation is leading feasibility studies on the use of green hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in isolated rural regions of the Philippines.
The Consulate’s visit to Bloom Energy was facilitated by Ms. Deanna Tryon, Chief of Protocol of the Silicon Valley Office of Protocol. END