The announcement was the subject of a feature article in the NY Times by James Glanz, who wrote:

“It will be the first major tech company to use alternative power as a primary source for energy-hungry data centers, although the new center will connect to the electricity grid for backup. Environmental groups have issued a series of rebukes to Internet companies because of their heavy reliance on coal-fired power to run their centers.”

This initiative demonstrates eBay’s core values — to impact positive change in the world — and reflects the passion and dedication of the eBay Green Team, which includes employee volunteers from virtually every business unit in the company.

In today’s press release, the company reports: “This initiative marks eBay’s fifth and largest renewable energy installation. eBay currently operates a 650 kilowatt (kW) solar array and a 500 kW Bloom fuel cell installation at its San Jose headquarters, as well as a 100 kW solar array at its Denver data center. In April of this year, the company installed a 665 kW solar array spanning 72,000 square feet atop its existing, LEED® certified Utah data center.”

eBay President and CEO John Donahoe views the Bloom Energy project as a key part of eBay’s ongoing commitment to greener, cleaner technology.

“We are embracing disruptive energy technology and designing it into our core data center energy architecture,” he commented. “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.”