DANBURY, Conn., Nov. 27, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of high efficiency, ultra-clean power plants for commercial, industrial, municipal and utility customers, today announced the sale of 3.9 megawatts (MW) of power plants to The Linde Group, a world-leading gases and engineering company. Linde will install four power plants at various customer locations in the San Diego area which will utilize purified biogas from the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (PLWTP) as the primary fuel source. The four power plants include three 1.2 megawatt (MW) plants and one 300 kilowatt (kW) plant.
Direct FuelCell(r) (DFC) fuel cells capitalize on the wastewater treatment plants' production of methane gas to produce renewable energy. Because of their high efficiency, DFC fuel cells produce near-zero emissions for around-the-clock operations such as hotels, universities, breweries and wastewater treatment plants. Until now, however, the use of wastewater treatment gas was limited to producing power at the facility where the methane is generated, since transporting fuel elsewhere entailed financial and logistic obstacles.
Linde will use methane gas that is currently being flared at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (PLWTP) in San Diego, California to fuel the four Direct FuelCell(r) (DFC(r)) power plants being purchased from FuelCell Energy. Most of the gas collected and purified by Linde will be transported off-site to three separate customer locations in southern California where DFC1500(r) ultra-clean power plants will be installed. The remainder of the methane will be used on-site to fuel a DFC300(r), which will provide renewable baseload power for Linde's purification plant. The electricity generated by the three DFC1500 units will be sold to the host customers under Power Purchase Agreements -- establishing the first commercial DFC fuel cell installations to run on transported renewable fuel.
"The demand for new sources of renewable energy provides a host of opportunities for Linde. This project is just one example of how we are leveraging Linde's core gases competencies to bring new energy solutions to the table," said Christopher Carson, Linde's Head of Biogas Business Development. "The ability to generate renewable fuel in one location and transport it economically to another where it can be utilized most effectively, fundamentally alters the economics of putting clean energy in place. We are working on a number of opportunities in this area, and strongly believe that projects such as this one, with the added benefits from high efficiency, ultra-clean Direct FuelCell technology, help maximize the economics and utilization of renewable resources."
Just as it does in its traditional industrial gases business, Linde will deliver purified methane by tube trailers to local off-site customers for the production of renewable heat and power. Linde makes thousands of deliveries each day of products like oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and other gases to its customer base, which spans a variety of industries from healthcare and food to traditional heavy industries such as steel, refining and glass.
"By partnering with a global gas company like Linde, we are in a position to open entirely new markets transporting biogas from generators like wastewater treatment plants to industrial and commercial customers for the production of on-site renewable electricity," said Bruce Ludemann, FuelCell Energy's Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Not only will this collaboration lead to a much greater use of biofuels to generate ultra-clean power, but it will also make green energy economical for customers that want to be carbon neutral and contribute to greenhouse gas reduction worldwide."
Linde's purchase of the DFC units is funded in part by California's Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), which promotes the installation of clean power generation sources throughout the state, and the federal Investment Tax Credit for fuel cells. In addition, because the biogas feedstock costs are not tied to the energy markets, Linde is able to offer its customers price stability for up to a ten year period. This adds up to a winning combination for Linde's customers.
About PLWTP
Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant treats the wastewater from the City of San Diego and 15 other cities and districts from a 450 square mile area with a population of over 2.2 million. An average of 180 million gallons of wastewater is treated every day. The organic solids ("sludge") which have settled out of the wastewater are pumped into one of eight digesters where they are reduced in volume through a heat and bacterial process called "anaerobic digestion." After about two weeks, this digested sludge is pumped from Point Loma through a 17 mile pipeline to the Metro Biosolids Center for further processing. Methane gas, a biofuel, is a by-product of the digestion process.
About The Linde Group
The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 50,000 employees working in more than 70 countries worldwide. Following the acquisition of The BOC Group plc, the company has sales of around 12 billion euro per annum. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. For more information, please see The Linde Group online at http://www.linde.com
About FuelCell Energy Inc.
FuelCell Energy is the world leader in the development and production of stationary fuel cells for commercial, industrial, municipal and utility customers. FuelCell Energy's ultra-clean and high efficiency DFC(r) fuel cells are generating power at over 50 locations worldwide. The company's power plants have generated more than 200 million kWh of power using a variety of fuels including renewable wastewater gas, biogas from beer and food processing as well as natural gas and other hydrocarbon fuels. FuelCell Energy has partnerships with major power plant developers, trading companies and power companies around the world. The company also receives substantial funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and other government agencies for the development of leading edge technologies such as hybrid fuel cell/turbine generators and solid oxide fuel cells. For more information please visit our website at www.fuelcellenergy.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's plans and expectations regarding the development and commercialization of its fuel cell technology. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could cause such a difference include, without limitation, the risk that commercial field trials of the Company's products will not occur when anticipated, general risks associated with product development, manufacturing, changes in the utility regulatory environment, potential volatility of energy prices, rapid technological change, and competition, as well as other risks set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.