FuelCell Energy Announces $160 Million Contract to Support Hartford Area Grid

DANBURY, Conn., Jan. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL), a Connecticut-based global leader in delivering clean, innovative fuel cell solutions for the supply, recovery, and storage of energy, announced that it will build a 7.4 MW fuel cell power plant in Hartford, Conn. The project will deliver Class 1 renewable baseload power to the local grid in support of the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard.

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The power produced by the fuel cell plant will be sold to the local distribution utilities, Eversource and United Illuminating, under a 20-year power purchase agreement (“PPA”). As a PPA, the project is expected to add more than $160 million of future revenue to FuelCell Energy’s generation backlog, a queue of new power generation projects.

Connecticut has been a leader in evolving U.S. energy policy and deployment of clean distributed power generation while modernizing the grid. Once complete, the Hartford project will improve the strength of the public electricity grid in an important load area that serves significant commercial and industrial sections of the region.

Jason Few, President & CEO of FuelCell Energy, commented, “Fuel cells are ideal for urban settings because they deliver space-efficient, quiet, and emission-free distributed resilient and reliable energy.”

He added, “Society is increasingly reliant on always-available electric power to meet data center, streaming, and cloud computing demand, as well as the proliferation of electric-hungry devices from cell phones to cars and trucks. We appreciate the state's goal of increasing ‘always on’ electric supply--especially from sources that use low-emission natural gas and avoid combusting the fuel, virtually eliminating SOx, NOx, and other particulate matter from emissions for better air quality.”

Few concluded, “FuelCell Energy is proud to support Connecticut’s grid and demonstrate our distributed technology’s ability to deliver faster time to power. We are well positioned to participate in the renaissance of infrastructure investments occurring in the U.S. at a time when the federal government is clearly signaling a focus on how AI will impact our electrical grid.”

FuelCell Energy designs, builds, and maintains the world’s largest fuel cell plants used around the world. In Connecticut, the systems are supporting the grid, a microgrid at the US Subbase New London, and various distributed power solutions.

Large project examples include:

• Bridgeport, Conn.: 15 MWs power plant in operation since 2012 supplying Connecticut Light and Power Company.
  
• Derby, Conn.: 14 MWs power plant in operation since 2023 supplying Eversource and United Illuminating.
  
• South Korea: The Hwaseong Baran Industrial Complex fuel cell power plant, in operation since 2013, has the capacity to produce 58.8 megawatts of electricity from 42 fuel cell modules that can provide power to about 135,000 homes and generate about 250 billion kilocalories of hot water for heating approximately 20,000 homes annually.
  

The Hartford project will be another example of FuelCell Energy’s distributed technology and its capability to meet the emerging time-to-power opportunity for microgrids demand in support of large-scale data center growth. The Hartford project is subject to certain customary project development conditions including grid interconnection.

About FuelCell Energy

FuelCell Energy, a pioneer in clean energy, provides efficient and sustainable power, carbon capture, and hydrogen solutions worldwide. The company’s fuel cells have been in commercial operation for more than 20 years and are able to run on various fuels including natural gas, hydrogen, and biofuel. Currently being demonstrated at Idaho National Laboratory, the company’s solid oxide electrolysis technology holds the promise of aiding industries in reducing carbon footprints with efficient hydrogen production.

Founded in 1969 in Danbury, Conn., the company continues to maintain its headquarters there and has a manufacturing facility in Torrington, Conn., as well. The company’s heritage and in-state manufacturing led it to proudly adopt the new “Make It Here” state branding and messaging unveiled in 2023.

FuelCell Energy holds more than 450 patents, advancing the global energy transition.

Learn more about our groundbreaking technology at fuelcellenergy.com.