Constellation and Bloom Energy to Develop 40 Megawatts of Fuel Cell Projects

Here are some of the stories we’re reading this morning.

Eric Wesoff August 13, 2015

Eric Wesoff

Editor-at-Large
Greentech Media

Eric Wesoff is Editor-at-Large at Greentech Media. Prior to joining GTM, Eric Wesoff founded Sage Marketing Partners in 2000 to provide sales and marketing-consulting services to venture-capital firms and their portfolio companies in the alternative energy and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Wesoff has become a well-known, respected authority and speaker in these fields.

His expertise covers solar power, fuel cells, biofuels and advanced batteries. His strengths are in market research and analysis, business development and due diligence for investors. He frequently consults for energy startups and Silicon Valley's premier venture capitalists.

Bloomberg: Exelon’s Constellation Deepens Its Bet on Bloom’s Fuel Cells

Exelon Corp.’s Constellation unit agreed to invest in 40 megawatts of Bloom Energy Corp. fuel cells, twice the size of its first foray last year into on-site power plants.

Constellation will buy stakes in the fuel cells that Bloom Energy installs for customers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and AT&T Inc. in four states, the Chicago-based utility-owner said in a statement Wednesday. Bloom will operate and maintain the natural-gas-powered fuel cells at 170 locations. The amount of the investment wasn’t disclosed.

Last year, Constellation invested an undisclosed amount in 21 megawatts of so-called Bloom boxes at 75 sites throughout California, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, giving the company confidence the investments will pay off, said Gary Fromer, senior vice president of distributed energy.

FCE: FuelCell Energy Announces Project Development Agreement With E.ON

FuelCell Energy, a global leader in the design, manufacture, operation and service of ultra-clean, efficient and reliable fuel cell power plants, today announced an agreement between its affiliate FuelCell Energy Solutions and E.ON Connecting Energies GmbH to offer decentralized combined-heat-and-power solutions with megawatt and multi-megawatt Direct FuelCell power plants to its existing and prospective customer base, via a power-purchase agreement financing or leasing structure. FuelCell Energy Solutions is a provider of ultra-clean, efficient and reliable fuel-cell power plants in the European Served Area. E.ON Connecting Energies bundles E.ON's solutions business in decentralized energy and energy efficiency, serving industrial, commercial and public-sector customers.

The agreement commences with the sale of a 1.4 MW plant in Europe at the German headquarters and production facility of FRIATEC in Mannheim. FRIATEC will host the plant, and benefit from ultra-clean, efficient and reliable power and high-quality heat, along with a reduction of power costs and enhanced energy security. E.ON will own the power plant and FuelCell Energy Solutions will install, operate and maintain the plant under a long-term service agreement.

The Wall Street Journal: Oil’s $4.4 Trillion Hole

It rankles when you lose $20. But hey, at least it isn’t $4.4 trillion.

That is roughly how much revenue the world’s oil producers will forego over the next three years, based on the current outlook for prices and demand, relative to what was expected just a year ago. With Brent crude having tumbled back below $50 a barrel, the industry has entered a vicious, and spreading, bout of deflation.

A year ago, futures indicated an average Brent crude-oil price in 2016 through 2018 of about $101 a barrel. Today, that is just under $60. Estimates of future demand have also been marked down slightly.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser: State Consumer Advocate opposes NextEra purchase of HEI

The state Consumer Advocate said Monday NextEra Energy Inc.’s proposed purchase of Hawaii’s largest electric utility is not in the public interest.

Consumer Advocate Jeffrey Ono said the current proposal is not in the public interest because NextEra has not clearly laid out how its purchase of Hawaiian Electric Industries will result in significant benefits for consumers.

The agency said NextEra offered “flawed and broad speculative savings estimates” during the review.