Bloom Energy plans East Coast production facility in Delaware
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2011
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 69 KB
- Volume
- 2011
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1464-2859
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✦ Synopsis
Bloom Energy plans East Coast production facility in Delaware
C alifornia-based Bloom Energy plans to build a high-tech manufacturing hub in Delaware, on the US East Coast. The deal -which marks the company's first major push outside its home state -is subject to final agreement with regional utility Delmarva Power, as well as the passage of enabling legislation and regulatory approval.
The new investment -announced by Delaware Governor Jack Markell -could create up to 1500 high-tech jobs between Bloom Energy and its suppliers at the site of the former Chrysler factory in Newark. The facility will manufacture Bloom Energy Servers, which were launched early last year [FCB, March 2010].
The Newark facility would directly employ 900 people, with a potential additional 600 jobs through co-located suppliers. An estimated 350 construction jobs could also be created this year, with manufacturing beginning in mid-2012.
The agreement would also see Bloom Energy supply 30 MW of power capacity over 21 years at a stable and competitive price, starting with 10 MW in 2012. Bloom Energy Servers -each rated at 100 kW -would be used to provide locally manufactured power supplies to Delaware employers and families.
Delmarva Power is proposing to partner with Bloom Energy to facilitate 30 MW of fuel cell installations as part of the utility's renewable energy portfolio, pending legislative and regulatory approval. The state authorities will consider legislation to establish a regulatory framework for fuel cells. Delmarva Power would then file a new manufactured-in-Delaware fuel cell rate tariff for review and approval by the Delaware Public Service Commission.
The Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO) plans to offer Bloom Energy a conditional grant of $11.25 million from the state's strategic fund for the 900 direct jobs the Bloom hub would employ, plus a conditional incentive for each job co-located to the site by suppliers. The conditional grant allows the state to recapture its investment if job targets are not met. DEDO has also offered 3% of Bloom's total capital expenditures up to the first $50 million.
Bloom Energy recently announced a significant expansion of its manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, quadrupling its production footprint and providing more than 1000 new jobs [FCB, May 2011].