Got Power Needs? Get an Energy Box.

With the announcement of Bloom Energy's Energy "Servers," the green movement took another step to being practical on the corporate level.  Companies with huge energy demands like websites such as eBay, Google, etc, with many servers demanding a power bill of, for eg, $1million per month, more cost-efficient methods to feed these beasts will sound very attractive.  From DailyTech:

 The so-called "Bloom Energy Servers" – which are about as tall as an adult male – can use virtually any hydrocarbon fuel (methane, propane, ethanol, gasoline, liquified coal) and produce energy twice as efficiently as a coal plant.  Bloom Energy is trying to revolutionize the power generation industry – the key is cutting out the middle-man (power transmission) and embracing a modular design akin to servers, the backbone of the internet.

Bloom also wants to expand into the consumer market around the $3000 range.  This could get more consumers on the alternative bandwagon as solar and wind power are not practical/cost efficient for most Americans. 

The real flesh of Bloom Energy's plan, though, is its planned consumer debut which will be carried out over the next few years.  Bloom aims at providing consumers with $3,000 units that will produce enough power to support the average home at minimal fuel cost.  It plans to push the power generation industry towards the same model that made the internet so fabulously successful -- server-based scaling.  In fact, it refers to its products as energy "servers" -- entirely flexible, modular power units.

There is one idea that has not been touched yet: If the cells could be downsized to fit in a car, could the idea of a fuel cell car like the GM Autonomy come sooner? 

My thoughts on the Toyota dilemna

Toyota, before 2010, is probably best known through the manufacturing world as the standard for quality and lean manufacturing through the Toyota Production System. Many principles used throughout the Quality world stem from their techniques to eliminate waste and make a better product.  Part of the quality environment includes finding problems before a customer uses it. 

Fast forward to 2010: A problem is found with the gas pedal of over 4.5M Toyota cars.  From the FAQ

The issue involves a friction device in the pedal designed to provide the proper “feel” by adding resistance and making the pedal steady and stable. This friction device includes a “shoe” that rubs against an adjoining surface during normal pedal operation. Due to the materials used, wear and environmental conditions, these surfaces may, over time, begin to stick and release instead of operating smoothly. In some cases, friction could increase to a point that the pedal is slow to return to the idle position or, in rare cases, the pedal sticks, leaving the throttle partially open

I have a few questions for Toyota:

• Was there any feedback from customers saying they wanted the "feel"in the first place?  This is like GM, Chrysler and Ford sticking with the traditional knobs to roll down windows over the safer buttons because "it looked better"
• Why wasn't this material tested?  With any friction in play, the force might be enough for the pedal to come back?