I’ve seen a lot of Bloom Energy in the news since they appeared on 60 minutes. I’ve also read some skeptical critique of their advertising campaign, which is, in my opinion, a little disingenuous (the advert, not the criticism). Others, however can take up that mantle. What I am interested in is the idea of these as relatively portable generators/batteries and the “local” trend. I don’t have a firm grasp on the ins and outs of the technology here, so I’m going to speak somewhat speculatively. Please understand that this is not a critique of the Bloom Box in particular, but a speculation about this kind of technology.
Could local mean your own backyard?
“Local” is the new “organic” in my community. There is a perception that if you take all the transport costs out of the equation that it is better and cheaper to consume local goods. This is, of course, easier for people living in the middle of California, than say, Northern Minnesota, where tomatos just don’t grow in the winter. But no matter where you live in the U.S., you’re still trucking or piping or wiring in your power from somewhere else. Now lets say that one day you can hook up a truck-portable batterie to your home, charge it with your solar panel or your windmill and use it to light you home when it gets dark/less windy. With one of these and a well, you’re practically off the grid (excepting your satalite internet at any rate). You can, of course do this with more conventional materials already, but this kind of power could potentially free your survivalist hideout from a dependancy on propane, should the Zombie Apocalypse come along.
Let’s say you’re perfectly happy on the grid, most of us are. It’s where we live and work. Could there be a new cottage industry here, making power for your frinds and neighbors? Will you buy a little extra energy from the guy down the street when you’re low? Energy, electruicity in particular, has always been so centralized for us. Solar pannels have started a real cognitive shift, but we still need the grid for night-time electric. Bringing this one step further. If we can declare indipendance from community power, what other parts of the community can we declare indipendance from?
Is this the backbone of a new type of community?
Maybe you don’t use one of these to power your home (or your workshop), maybe you have a big one that powers an entire community. Could these little indipendant ideological centers exist off the grid, so to speak. Will we new tax revolts from groups that sustain themselves and want nothing to do with society at large? These microcosms exist today, and will surely exist in the future, but new technology like this makes it easier to pack your things and say good-bye to civilization. We know this can be used to bring more efficent power and, in particular, electricity, to 3rd world villages, but can it cause a diaspora in first world nations? Will be see communities that formed on the internet transition to geographical as the ability to create off-grid communities becomes easy?
Alas, I suppose we’ll have to wait for time to tell. Meanwhile I’ll fantasize about running off into the uncharted wilderness, with all the comforts of home. I guess all we really need now is low-cost teleportation. Then I’ll just beam in to work every day from my hilltop villa in some remote mountain range 
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